Variability of Urinary Concentrations of Phenols, Parabens, and Triclocarban during Pregnancy in First Morning Voids and Pooled Samples

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Hyeong-Moo Shin, University of Texas Arlington; Jiwon Oh, University of Texas Arlington; Kyunghoon Kim, Seoul National University of Science and Technology; Stefanie A Busgang, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Dana Barr, Emory University; Parinya Panuwet, Emory University; Rebecca J Schmidt, University of California Davis; Irva Hertz-Picciotto, University of California Davis; Deborah H Bennett, University of California Davis
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-12-07
• Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 American Chemical Society
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04140
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 23
• Start Page: 16001
• End Page: 16010
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R21-ES025551, R21-ES028131, R01-ES020392, R24-ES028533, P30-ES023513, P01-ES011269, U2C-ES026555, U2C-ES026560, P30-ES019776, U54-HD079125, UH3-OD023342), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (83543201), and UC Daivs MIND Institute.
• Keywords: biospecimens; ASSOCIATION; WOMEN; pooling; reproducibility; Engineering, Environmental; Engineering; SPOT SAMPLES; BISPHENOL-A EXPOSURE; Science & Technology; sample type; TRICLOSAN; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH; PRENATAL EXPOSURE; ENVIRONMENTAL PHENOLS; PREDICTORS; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Environmental Sciences; FETAL EXPOSURE; exposure misclassification; Technology

Abstract

Urinary concentrations of phenols, parabens, and triclocarban have been extensively used as biomarkers of exposure. However, because these compounds are quickly metabolized and excreted in urine, characterizing participants’ long-term average exposure from a few spot samples is challenging. To examine the variability of urinary concentrations of these compounds during pregnancy, we quantified four phenols, four parabens, and triclocarban in 357 first morning voids (FMVs) and 203 pooled samples collected during the second and third trimesters of 173 pregnancies. We computed intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) by the sample type (FMV and pool) across two trimesters and by the number of composite samples in pools, ranging from 2 to 4, within the same trimester. Among the three compounds detected in more than 50% of the samples, the ICCs across two trimesters were higher in pools (0.29-0.68) than in FMVs (0.17-0.52) and the highest ICC within the same trimester was observed when pooling either two or three composites. Methyl paraben and propyl paraben primarily exposed via cosmetic use had approximately 2-3 times higher ICCs than bisphenol A primarily exposed via diet. Our findings support that within-subject pooling of biospecimens can increase the reproducibility of pregnant women’s exposure to these compounds and thus could potentially minimize exposure misclassification.