Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on August 17, 2007
Human Reproduction 2007 22(10):2715-2722; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem205
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Associations between urinary phthalate monoesters and thyroid hormones in pregnant women
1 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung Universitys, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China 3 Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Republic of China
4 Correspondence address. Tel: +886-6-274-4412; Fax: +886-6-274-3748; E-mail: cclee{at}mail.ncku.edu.tw
BACKGROUND: Maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy can cause adverse effects in the fetus. Scientific evidence has shown that probable thyroid-like function of some phthalates in vitro and in vivo, and phthalates exposure, can begin in utero. This study investigated the association between phthalate exposure and thyroid hormones in pregnant women.
METHODS: Serum and spot urine samples were collected from 76 Taiwanese pregnant women at second trimester. Thyroid hormones, including thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and free T4 (FT4) were analysed in serum samples, and five urinary phthalate monoesters, including mono butyl phthalate (MBP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP) and mono ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), were measured.
RESULTS: Urinary MBP, MEP and MEHP, the median levels of which were 81.8, 27.7 and 20.6 ng/ml, respectively, were the predominant substances in the urinary phthalate monoesters. Significant mild negative correlations were found between T4 and urinary MBP (R = –0.248, P < 0.05), and between FT4 and urinary MBP (R = –0.368, P < 0.05). After adjusting for age, BMI and gestation, urinary MBP levels showed negative associations with FT4 and T4 (FT4: 
= –0.110, P < 0.001; T4: =–0.112, P = 0.003).
CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) may affect thyroid activity in pregnant women, but how DBP affects thyroid function is unclear. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism of action and to investigate whether any other factors related to DBP exposure alter the thyroid function.
Key words: pregnant women/urinary phthalate monoesters/thyroid hormones.
Submitted on March 10, 2007; resubmitted on June 3, 2007; accepted on June 13, 2007.
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