Article Cite This: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2019, 53, 7812−7820
pubs.acs.org/est
Exposure Assessment of Bisphenols in Chinese Women during Pregnancy: A Longitudinal Study Jiufeng Li,†,§ Chuansha Wu,‡,§ Hongzhi Zhao,† Yanqiu Zhou,† Guodong Cao,† Zhiyi Yang,† Yanjun Hong,† Shunqing Xu,‡ Wei Xia,*,‡ and Zongwei Cai*,†
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State Key Laboratory of Environmental and Biological Analysis, Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China ‡ Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: Bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) are increasingly used in manufacturing consumer products to replace the use of bisphenol A (BPA), but exposure data are limited, particularly among pregnant women. Here, we measured BPA, BPS, and BPF levels in urine samples, collected from 941 pregnant women over three trimesters. We examined the correlations, coexposure patterns, variability, and predictors of bisphenols using Spearman’s correlation coefficient, percentile analysis, intraclass correlation coefficient, and linear mixed models, respectively. We assessed health risks using average concentrations of bisphenols over three trimesters. The three bisphenols were detected in more than 50% of samples, among which BPA was the predominant one. Cashiers, office workers, teachers, and salespersons had elevated urinary BPS concentrations, while healthcare workers had relatively higher BPA concentrations. About 15 participants had potential health risks induced by exposure to bisphenol mixtures. These findings indicate that exposure to multiple bisphenols at low levels is common over three trimesters. Multiple measurements of urinary BPA and BPS concentrations are needed for more accurate evaluation of the exposure levels during pregnancy, while urinary BPF concentrations during pregnancy are moderately reliable. Occupational exposure should be taken into consideration in future demographic studies.
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adhesives plastics, dental sealants, pipelines, and coatings.7 The production volume of BPS applied in thermal paper has nearly doubled between 2016 and 2017 according to a recent survey from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).8 BPS has been detected in receipts and paper money,9 while BPF is mainly applied to make epoxy resin in China.6 Also, BPS and BPF have been detected in many personal care products and food.10 Nowadays, BPA alternatives are widely detected in dust,11 water,12 sediment,13 foodstuffs,14 human urine,15 blood,16 and seminal plasma.17 Recently, in vitro and animal studies have shown that BPF and BPS may exhibit similar toxicity to or higher than BPA.7,18 Several studies, although limited in number, have evaluated the health effects of BPA alternatives on pregnant women or fetuses. Wan et al. (2018) observed that prenatal exposure to BPS was associated with increased gestational age among girl
INTRODUCTION Bisphenol A (2,2-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane; BPA) is a synthetic chemical, which is used as a monomer in manufacturing polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. BPA is normally applied as a plasticizer, which dominates the production of consumer products and food containers.1 As polymer degrades, BPA can leach from the products and enter the human body via ingestion, inhalation, or dermal contact.2 Because of its well-noted estrogenic, antiandrogenic, and thyroid hormonal activities,3 the usage of BPA has been banned in certain products, such as baby bottles and children’s toys, which has led to the increasing production and application of BPA substitutes, particularly 4,4′-methylenediphenol (BPF) and 4-hydroxyphenyl sulfone (BPS).4 The global BPA production volume amounted to about 4.70 million tons in 2007, and the amount of BPA produced in China grew to 2.25 million tons in 2010.5 The global production and consumption of bisphenols, especially those of BPS and BPF, have tended to increase.6 BPS is mostly applied in products for industrial uses and thermal papers, while BPF is commonly found in consumer products, such as © 2019 American Chemical Society
Received: Revised: Accepted: Published: 7812
February 28, 2019 June 6, 2019 June 10, 2019 June 10, 2019 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01281 Environ. Sci. Technol. 2019, 53, 7812−7820
Article
Environmental Science & Technology infants,19 whereas Aung et al. (2018) found that BPS exposure during the third trimester increased the risks of preterm birth.20 The inconsistent findings may be caused by urinary concentrations, which were measured at different time points in pregnancy. Considering the rapid elimination of bisphenols21,22 and relatively long gestation period (about 40 weeks), the repeated urinary bisphenol measurements during pregnancy are essential to more accurately assess the exposure levels of bisphenols and further to help address the potential adverse health effects of maternal bisphenol exposure on mothers or fetuses.15 Health risks caused by BPA exposure have been investigated thoroughly in general population23 and children.9 However, a limited number of studies have evaluated the health hazards induced by exposure to mixtures of bisphenols. Additionally, urinary concentrations of bisphenols are associated with a variety of factors, such as demographic factors, socioeconomic levels, and lifestyles.24,25 Thus, understanding the relationships between predictors and exposure levels of bisphenols might help to reduce bisphenol exposures. However, predictors varied across study populations, study designs, sampling years, and assessment approaches. It is a necessity to investigate the exposure characterization of bisphenols among Chinese pregnant women. In this study, we measured BPA and its two most common alternatives, BPS and BPF, in urine samples collected from 941 mothers at three trimesters. We aimed to profile exposure patterns, to evaluate the correlations of analytes, and to investigate the variations and variability of three bisphenols over three trimesters. In addition, we explored the associations between urinary bisphenol concentrations and demographic factors to obtain the predictors of exposure to bisphenols. We also assessed the health risks caused by exposure to bisphenol mixtures based on the average concentrations of three bisphenols over the three trimesters.
and 19, and above 20. Additionally, women were divided into three groups (inadequate, recommended, and excessive) by comparing their gestational weight gain with Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations.27 Babies born at less than 37 weeks (preterm birth) and 37 to 38 weeks (early term birth) may have more health problems than those born between 39 and 42 weeks.28 Therefore, we divided participants into two groups according to the length of gestation:
