Phthalates exposure and its influencing factors among pregnant women

Objective To detect the exposure of phthalates among pregnant women and to explore the factors associated with the exposure.Methods The participants were 1 492 pregnant women visiting maternal and child health centers for their first prenatal examination in Ma'anshan city of Anhui province between November 2008 and November 2010.The levels of serum phthalate metabolites were detected and the characteristics of phthalate exposure and its influence factors were analyzed.Results Among the pregnant women,the detection rate of monoethyl phthalate(MEP),mono-n-butyl phthalate(MBP),and mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate(MEHP) were 86.8%,99.8%,and 100%,with the geometric means of 0.22 ng/mL,5.56 ng/mL,and 5.77 ng/mL,respectively.The results of binary logistic regression showed that the women at gestational age of 9th-12th week had lower levels of MEP(odds ratioOR=0.65,95% confidence interval 95%CI:0.47-0.89),MBP (OR=0.70,95%CI:0.51-0.97),and MEHP(OR=0.44,95%CI:0.33-0.60) and the women at gestational age of 13th week had lower levels of MBP (OR=0.62,95%CI:0.45-0.86) and MEHP (OR=0.27,95%CI:0.19-0.37).The level of MBP in the women with the education of undergraduate or higher (OR=1.61,95%CI:1.12-2.31) or history of abortion (OR=2.17,95%CI:1.04-4.52) was higher and the level of MEHP in the women aged ≥30 years (OR=1.88,95%CI:1.23-2.87) was higher.Conclusion The pregnant women in Ma'anshan city are widely exposed to phthalates and age,gestational age,education level and history of abortion are factors related to serum phthalate metabolites in the women.