Journal
FERTILITY AND STERILITY
Volume 111, Issue 1, Pages 112-121Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.09.009
Keywords
Consumer product chemicals; endocrine-disrupting chemicals; health disparities; uterine leiomyoma; women's health
Categories
Funding
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [R00 ES019881]
- George Washington University Milken School of Public Health (Springboard Grants Program)
- George Washington University Office of the Vice President for Research (Cross-disciplinary Research Fund)
- George Washington University Cancer Center
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Objectives: To examine the association between phthalate exposure and two measures of uterine fibroid burden: diameter of largest fibroid and uterine volume. Design: Pilot, cross-sectional study. Setting: Academic medical center. Patient(s): Fifty-seven premenopausal women undergoing either hysterectomy or myomectomy for fibroids. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): The diameter of the largest fibroid and uterine dimensions were abstracted from medical records. Spot urine samples were analyzed for 14 phthalate biomarkers using mass spectrometry. We estimated associations between fibroid outcomes and individual phthalate metabolites, sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites (Sigma DEHP), and a weighted sum of anti-androgenic phthalate metabolites (Sigma AA Phthalates) using linear regression, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and body mass index. Fibroid outcomes were also examined dichotomously (divided at the median) using logistic regression. Results: Most women were of black ethnicity, overweight or obese, and college educated. In multivariable models, higher levels of mono-hydroxyisobutyl phthalate, monocarboxyoctyl phthalate, monocarboxynonyl phthalate, mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl phthalate) (MEHHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), and mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), Sigma DEHP, and Sigma AA Phthalates were positively associated with uterine volume. Associations were most pronounced for individual DEHP metabolites (MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP), Sigma DEHP, and Sigma AA Phthalates. For example, a doubling in Sigma DEHP and Sigma AA Phthalates was associated with 33.2% (95% confidence interval 6.6-66.5) and 26.8% (95% confidence interval 2.2-57.4) increase in uterine volume, respectively. There were few associations between phthalate biomarkers and fibroid size. Conclusions: Exposure to some phthalate biomarkers was positively associated with uterine volume, which further supports the hypothesis that phthalate exposures may be associated with fibroid outcomes. Additional studies are needed to confirm these relationships. (C) 2018 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
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