Studies have shown that phenols and parabens, which are widely used chemicals found in items including personal care products and pharmaceuticals, can be linked to various adverse health conditions, including ovarian toxicity, breast cancer, immune disorders, and other adverse outcomes.
In a new study, lead author Anna Pollack, assistant professor of global and community health, explores the exposure to phenols and parabens by measuring the urinary metabolic concentrations in reproductive-aged women and whether spot or multiple urine samples were accurate measures of phenol and paraben exposure. The study is published in Environmental Research.
“While there is a growing body of evidence that links phenols and parabens to numerous adverse health effects, there is a lack of literature exploring the exposure of these chemicals in healthy, reproductive-aged women who are not actively trying to become pregnant,” Pollack said. “With the growing concerns of pregnant women in avoiding exposure to chemicals, especially in personal care products, it’s important that we look at those groups of women independently in the research.”
This study examined urine samples from 143 women across two months, for a total of 509 samples. A majority of participants were younger than 25, non-Hispanic white, and nonsmokers. The results showed that spot, or one-time, urine samples did moderately well at predicting a participant’s exposure to phenols and parabens. The concentration differences found among various phenols and parabens could be contributed to how a participant was exposed to and absorbed the chemical.
“This is one of the largest studies to date that examines phenol and paraben exposure among reproductive-aged women not actively trying to become pregnant,” Pollack said. “Our findings show that collecting at least a few urine samples is necessary to characterize exposure to phenols and parabens, which will be helpful in planning for future biospecimen collection.”