Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates and Newborn Telomere Length: A Birth Cohort Study in Wuhan, China
Abstract
Background: Telomere length (TL) is a marker of biological aging and is inversely related to aging-related diseases. The setting of TL at birth may have important implications for lifelong telomere dynamics; however, its determinants remain poorly understood. Objectives: The purpose of our study was to explore the relationships between prenatal exposure to phthalates and umbilical cord blood TL. Methods: A total of 762 mother–newborn pairs were recruited from a birth cohort study performed between November 2013 and March 2015 in Wuhan, China. Relative cord blood TL was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Six phthalate metabolites were measured in urine samples acquired from pregnant women during the three trimesters. Multiple informant models were applied to estimate the associations between prenatal exposure to phthalates and cord blood TL and to evaluate potential windows of vulnerability. Results: Exposure to mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-butyl phthalate (MBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (ΣDEHP) during the first trimester were inversely related to cord blood TL. In addition, we observed a female-specific association between maternal exposure to MEP during the first trimester and cord blood TL (psex‐int=0.03). The associations between maternal exposure to MECPP, MEHHP, MEOHP, and ΣDEHP during the…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence.
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