Recent Fast Food Consumption and Bisphenol A and Phthalates Exposures among the US Population in NHANES, 2003-2010

BACKGROUND: Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are widely used industrial chemicals that may adversely impact human health. Human exposure is ubiquitous and can occur through diet, including consumption of processed or packaged food. OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between recent fast food intake and BPA and urinary metabolites of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (Sigma DEHPm) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNPm) among the U.S. population. METHODS: We combined data on 8,877 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003-2010). Using 24-hr dietary recall data, we quantified: a) fast food intake [percent of total energy intake (TEI) from fast food]; b) fast food-derived fat intake (percent of TEI from fat in fast food); and c) fast food intake by food group (dairy, eggs, grains, meat, and other). We examined associations between dietary exposures and urinary chemical concentrations using multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: We observed evidence of a positive, dose-response relationship between fast food intake and exposure to phthalates (p-trend < 0.0001) but not BPA; participants with high consumption (>= 34.9% TEI from fast food) had 23.8% (95% CI: 11.9%, 36.9%) and 39.0% (95% CI: 21.9%, 58.5%) higher levels of Sigma DEHPm and DiNPm, respectively, than nonconsumers. Fast food-derived fat intake was also positively associated with Sigma DEHPm and DiNPm (p-trend < 0.0001). After adjusting for other food groups, Sigma DEHPm was associated with grain and other intake, and DiNPm was associated with meat and grain intake. CONCLUSION: Fast food may be a source of exposure to DEHP and DiNP. These results, if confirmed, could inform individual and regulatory exposure reduction strategies.