Racial and ethnic differences in prenatal exposure to environmental phenols and parabens in the ECHO Cohort

Michael S. Bloom, Department of Global and Community Health, College of Public Health, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA. mbloom22@gmu.edu.
Sudhi Upadhyaya, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Adaeze W. Nzegwu, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jordan R. Kuiper, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Jessie P. Buckley, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Judy Aschner, Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack, NJ, USA.
Dana Barr, Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Emily S. Barrett, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Deborah H. Bennett, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
Dana Dabelea, Department of Epidemiology, University of Colorado, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
Anne L. Dunlop, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Alma Fuller, School of Nursing, College of Public Health, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
Margaret Karagas, Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Donghai Liang, Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
John Meeker, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Rachel Miller, Division of Clinical Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Thomas G. O'Connor, Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
Megan E. Romano, Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Sheela Sathyanarayana, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Anne P. Starling, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Annemarie Stroustrup, Northwell Health, Cohen Children's Medical Center and the Departments of Pediatrics and Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology & Prevention, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New Hyde Park, NY, USA.
Deborah J. Watkins, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-15-2025

Journal

Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology

DOI

10.1038/s41370-025-00750-w

Keywords

Environmental phenols; Ethnicity; Health inequities; Parabens; Pregnancy

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Research suggests racial/ethnic disparities in prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting environmental phenols (EPs) in limited populations. However, no studies have investigated racial/ethnic disparities in prenatal EP exposure across the U.S. OBJECTIVES: To estimate demographic differences in prenatal urinary EPs among participants in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort. METHODS: An analysis of 4006 pregnant ECHO participants was performed, with 7854 specimens collected from 1999-2020. Racial/ethnic identity was self-reported. Urinary levels of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), bisphenols A (BPA), F (BPF), and S (BPS), and methyl- (MePb), ethyl- (EtPb), propyl- (PrPb), and butyl- (BuPb) parabens were measured at one or more time points during pregnancy. Effect estimates were adjusted for age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, educational level, gestational age and season at urine collection, and ECHO cohort. RESULTS: Participants were classified as Hispanic of any race (n = 1658), non-Hispanic White (n = 1478), non-Hispanic Black (n = 490), and non-Hispanic Other (n = 362), which included individuals of multiple races. Urinary 2,4-DCP and 2,5-DCP concentrations were 2- to 4-fold higher among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic Other participants relative to non-Hispanic White participants. MePb was ~2-fold higher among non-Hispanic Black (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.7-3.1) and non-Hispanic Other (95% CI: 1.5-2.8) participants. PrPb was similarly higher among non-Hispanic Black (95% CI: 1.7-3.7) and non-Hispanic Other (95% CI: 1.3-3.1) participants. EtPb was higher among non-Hispanic Black participants (3.1-fold; 95% CI 1.7-5.8). BP-3 was lower in Hispanic (0.7-fold; 95% CI: 0.5-0.9), non-Hispanic Black (0.4-fold; 95% CI: 0.3-0.5), and non-Hispanic Other (0.5-fold; 95% CI: 0.4-0.7) participants. Urinary BuPb, BPA, BPF, and BPS were similar across groups. IMPACT STATEMENT: This multisite, observational cohort study investigated whether there are racial and ethnic differences in prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting environmental phenols and parabens. Among 4006 participants from multiple U.S. cohorts who provided urine specimens during pregnancy, those who self-reported a racial and ethnic identity other than non-Hispanic White had higher urinary concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, and propyl paraben and lower urinary concentrations of benzophenone-3 than those reporting as non-Hispanic White. These data show differences in prenatal concentrations of endocrine disrupting environmental phenols and parabens by racial and ethnic identity.

Department

Environmental and Occupational Health

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