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Identification of Phthalates from Artificial Products in Chinese Kindergarten Classrooms and the Implications for Preschool Children's Exposure Assessments.

ABSTRACT: Phthalates are typical chemical pollutants in kindergarten classrooms since numerous artificial products (e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC) floorings, soft polymers and plastic toys) that might contain phthalates are widely distributed in kindergarten classrooms. Although Chinese preschool children spend a considerable amount of their waking hours (>8 h/day) in kindergartens, phthalate exposure in such indoor environment has not been given much attention. In this study, the mass fractions of six phthalates in twenty-six artificial products (fifteen flat decoration materials and eleven plastic toys) commonly found in Chinese kindergarten classrooms were measured. Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was the most predominant compound in all materials. The emission characteristics of the DEHP from these materials were further investigated. The measured emission characteristics were used for predicting multi-phase DEHP concentrations in kindergarten classrooms by applying a mass transfer model. The modeled concentrations were comparable with those measured in the real environment, indicating that these products might be the major sources of DEHP in Chinese kindergarten classrooms. Preschool children's exposure to DEHP was found to be 0.42 μg/kg/day in kindergartens under baseline conditions, accounting for 18% of the total exposure to DEHP in Chinese indoor environments.

SUBMITTER: Wang J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9265414 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Research relating either prenatal or concurrent measures of phthalate exposure to thyroid function in preschool children is inconclusive. METHODS:In a study of inner-city mothers and their children, metabolites of di-n-butyl phthalate, butylbenzyl phthalate, di-isobutyl phthalate, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and diethyl phthalate were measured in a spot urine sample collected from women in late pregnancy and from their children at age 3years. We measured children's serum free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) at age 3. Linear regression models were used to investigate the associations between phthalate metabolites, measured in maternal urine during late pregnancy and measured in child urine at age 3 and thyroid function measured at age 3. RESULTS:Mean concentrations (ranges) were 1.42ng/dL (1.02-2.24) for FT4, and 2.62uIU/mL (0.61-11.67) for TSH. In the children at age 3, among girls, FT4 decreased with increasing loge mono-n-butyl phthalate [estimated b=-0.06; 95% CI: (-0.09, -0.02)], loge mono-isobutyl phthalate [b=-0.05; 95% CI: (-0.09, -0.01)], loge monoethyl phthalate [b=-0.04; 95% CI: (-0.07, -0.01)], and loge mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate [b=-0.04; 95% CI: (-0.07, -0.003)] and loge mono(2-ethyl-5-oxy-hexyl) phthalate [b=-0.04; 95% CI: (-0.07, -0.004)]. In contrast, among boys, we observed no associations between FT4 and child phthalate metabolites at age 3. On the other hand, in late gestation, FT4 increased with increasing loge mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [estimated b=0.04; 95% CI: (0.02, 0.06)] and no sex difference was observed. We found no associations between phthalate biomarkers measured in either the child or prenatal samples and TSH at age 3. CONCLUSIONS:The data show inverse and sex specific associations between specific phthalate metabolites measured in children at age 3 and thyroid function in preschool children. These results may provide evidence for the hypothesis that reductions in thyroid hormones mediate associations between early life phthalate exposure and child cognitive outcomes.

Project description:Ubiquitous occurrences of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) or phthalates in a variety of consumer products have been demonstrated. Nevertheless, studies on their occurrence in various types of bottled drinks are limited. In this study, fifteen PAEs were analyzed in six categories of bottled drinks (n = 105) collected from the Chinese market, including mineral water, tea drinks, energy drinks, juice drinks, soft drinks, and beer. Among the 15 PAEs measured, DEHP was the most abundant phthalate with concentrations ranging from below the limit of quantification (LOQ) to 41,000 ng/L at a detection rate (DR) of 96%, followed by DIBP (DR: 88%) and DBP (DR: 84%) with respective concentration ranges of below LOQ to 16,000 and to 4900 ng/L. At least one PAE was detected in each drink sample, and the sum concentrations of 15 PAEs ranged from 770 to 48,004 ng/L (median: 6286 ng/L). Significant differences with respect to both PAE concentrations and composition profiles were observed between different types of bottled drinks. The median sum concentration of 15 PAEs in soft drinks was over five times higher than that detected in mineral water; different from other drink types. Besides DEHP, DBIP, and DBP, a high concentration of BMEP was also detected in a tea drink. The estimated daily dietary intake of phthalates (EDIdrink) through the consumption of bottled drinks was calculated based on the concentrations measured and the daily ingestion rates of bottled drink items. The EDIdrink values for DMP, DEP, DIBP, DBP, BMEP, DAP, BEEP, BBP, DCP, DHP, BMPP, BBEP, DEHP, DOP, and DNP through the consumption of bottled mineral water (based on mean concentrations) were 0.45, 0.33, 12.5, 3.67, 2.10, 0.06, 0.32, 0.16, 0.10, 0.09, 0.05, 0.81, 112, 0.13, and 0.20 ng/kg-bw/d, respectively, for Chinese adults. Overall, the EDIdrink values calculated for phthalates through the consumption of bottled drinks were below the oral reference doses suggested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).

Project description:ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the association between preschool playground size, formalized physical activity (PA) policies, time spent outdoors and preschool teacher's levels of PA and children's objectively assessed levels of PA and sedentary time (ST) during preschool hours.MethodsIn total, 369 children and 84 preschool teachers from 27 preschools in Södermalm municipally, Stockholm Sweden wore an Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer during 7 consecutive days. Preschool environmental and structural characteristics were measured via the Environment and Policy Evaluation Self-Report (EPAO-SR) instrument and time in- and outdoors was recorded by preschool teachers during the PA measurements. Weight and height of children were measured via validated scales and parents filled out a questionnaire on demographical and descriptive variables. Linear mixed models, nested on preschool level, were used to assess the association between predictors and outcomes.ResultsThe mean child age was 4.7 years (SD 0.8) and 45% were girls. We found that children were more active in preschools with a formalized PA policy, compared to preschools without such a policy, but not less sedentary. The association between policy and activity seemed to be more pronounced when accounting for other environmental factors. Similar associations were found in children spent most time outdoors (uppermost quartile) compared with children spent least time outdoors (Lowermost quartile). Preschool teachers' light PA (LPA) (ß = 0.25, P = 0.004) and steps (ß = 0.52, P<0.001) were associated with children's LPA and steps while the preschool playground size showed no association with PA in children, when accounting for other environmental factors.ConclusionThe current study showed that preschool structural characteristics such as formalized PA policies and more time spent outdoors were positively associated with children's PA. These findings suggest that formalized PA policies and time outdoors may be of importance for promoting children's PA during preschool hours.

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Identification of Phthalates from Artificial Products in Chinese Kindergarten Classrooms and the Implications for Preschool Children's Exposure Assessments.

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