The Norwegian biomonitoring study from the EU project EuroMix: Levels of phenols and phthalates in 24-hour urine samples and exposure sources from food and personal care products

BACKGROUND

Exposure to multiple chemicals occurs daily through several routes; diet, inhalation and dermal contact. Real-life exposure assessment is needed to understand the risk. Therefore, a human biomonitoring (BM) study was performed to examine the plausibility of source-to-dose calculations for chemical mixtures in the Horizon 2020 EuroMix project.

OBJECTIVES

To provide a detailed description of the design of the EuroMix BM study, and to present the initial results for urinary phenols and phthalates and to describe their exposure determinants from foods and personal care products (PCPs).

METHOD

Adults (44 males and 100 females) kept detailed diaries on their food consumption, PCP use and handling of cash receipts. Urine samples were collected over the same 24-hour period. Urinary levels of four parabens, five bisphenols, oxybenzone/benzophenone-3 (OXBE), triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC) and metabolites of eight phthalates and 1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH) were analysed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Multivariable linear regressions were performed between PCPs/food categories and each dependent chemical variable separately, and were only sex-stratified when an interactions between sex and the independent variable was significant.

RESULTS

The detection rate for the metabolites of phthalates and DINCH, and bisphenol A (BPA) and TCS in urine was 88-100%, while bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) were only found in 29% and 4% of the urine samples, respectively. Bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol AF (BPAF) and TCC were not detected. Food groups associated with phenol exposure were meat, bread, beverages and butter and oil. Food determinants for phthalate exposure were sweets, butter and oil, fruit and berries and other foods. The only positive association between the use of PCPs and phenols was found between BPA and lip gloss/balm. Phthalate exposure was associated with the use of shower gel, hand cream (females), toothpaste, anti-wrinkle cream (females) and shaving products (males).

CONCLUSION

The participants in the EuroMix BM study were exposed to a mixture of phenols and phthalates. A variety of food categories and PCPs were found to be possible sources of these chemicals. This indicates a complex pattern of exposure to numerous chemicals from multiple sources, depending on individual diet and PCP preferences.

Osmotic Stimulation of Thirst in Men and Women (P15-017-19)

Objectives

Examine potential sex differences in osmotically stimulated thirst.

Methods

60 healthy adults (30 female - measured in early follicular phase, age: 39 ± 8 y, weight: 78.2 ± 15.2 kg, body mass index: 26.9 ± 4.0 kg·m−2) were infused intravenously with 3% (HYPER) or 0.9% (ISO) NaCl for 120 min (0.1 ml·kg−1·min−1) in a counterbalanced, cross-over design. The same volume of saline was infused in both trials. Blood samples and thirst responses were collected prior to infusion and every 30 minutes. Plasma osmolality (POsm) and sodium (PNa) were measured. Thirst was assessed via a 180-mm visual analog scale consisting of a line with an anchor on the left side (0 mm, “not at all”) and a second anchor on the 125-mm mark with the label “extremely”.

Results

From 0 min to 120 min in the HYPER trial, PNa increased from 136 ± 2 mmol ·L−1 to 146.5 ± 3 mmol ·l−1 (P < 0.001). Similarly, POsm and thirst increased significantly from 286 ± 3 mmol·kg−1 to 305 ± 4 mmol·kg−1 (P < 0.001) and from 38 ± 29 mm to 88 ± 35 mm (P < 0.001), respectively. During the ISO trial, PNa (0 min: 135.9 ± 1.9; 120 min: 137.6 ± 1.6 mmol·L−1), POsm (0 min: 285 ± 4 mmol·kg−1; 120 min: 287 ± 3 mmol·kg−1), and thirst (0 min: 30 ± 27 mm; 120 min: 44 ± 32 mm) remained unchanged (P > 0.05). POsm at the end of the infusion did not differ between men and women for the HYPER (men: 306 ± 5 mmol·kg−1; women: 305 ± 3 mmol·kg−1) or ISO (men: 288 ± 3 mmol·kg−1; women: 288 ± 3 mmol·kg−1) trials. When thirst responses were split by sex women exhibited greater thirst (98 ± 27 mm) than men (77 ± 38 mm) at the end of the HYPER trial (P < 0.0001), but not at the end of the ISO trial (women: 43 ± 32 mm, men 44 ± 31 mm; P > 0.05).

Conclusions

These data suggest that similar hypertonic stimulus may lead to greater thirst stimulation in women.

Funding Sources

This study was funded by Danone Research.

Hypertonic Saline Infusion Acutely Degrades Mood in Healthy Volunteers (P23-014-19)

Objectives

Mild and moderate dehydration adversely affect mood and cognitive function. During dehydration, hypertonic hypovolemia activates both osmo- and baro-receptors but it is not known which physiological pathway is associated with degraded mood state. This study examined the acute effect of osmoreceptor stimulation on mood.

Methods

Sixty healthy adults (50% females, 30 ± 1 y; BMI: 26.9 ± 4.0 kg·m−2) were infused intravenously with 3.0% (HYPER) or 0.9% (ISO) NaCl for 2 h (0.1 ml·kg−1·min−1) using a counterbalanced, crossover design. Blood samples were collected every 30 minutes to measure plasma osmolality (POsm), copeptin (a surrogate marker of vasopressin), and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) hormones. Mood was assessed with the short version of Profile of Mood State (POMS) questionnaire before and after the infusion.

Results

POsm and copeptin increased from 286 ± 3 mmol·kg−1 to 305 ± 4 mmol·kg−1 and from 4.5 ± 3.7 pmol·L−1 to 20.4 ± 12.8 pmol·L−1, respectively in HYPER (P < 0.05), and were unchanged in ISO (P > 0.05). No hormonal differences were observed between trials for RAAS hormones (P > 0.05). During HYPER copeptin, following the 2-h infusion, was greater in females than in males (female: 23.4 ± 13.9 pmol·L−1, male: 17.4 ± 10.9 pmol·L−1; P < 0.05). The POMS total mood disturbance (TMD) score increased from 10.5 ± 0.9 to 16.5 ± 1.6 in HYPER (P < 0.05), but not in ISO (P > 0.05). Among POMS subscales, depression-dejection and fatigue-inertia increased in HYPER compared to ISO (P < 0.05). When TMD responses in the HYPER trial were analyzed with sex as a between-subjects factor, the increase was significant in females (pre: 10.2 ± 1.0, post: 18.6 ± 2.3; P < 0.001) but not in males (pre: 10.8 ± 1.4, post: 14.0 ± 2.0; P > 0.05). The confusion-bewilderment subscales and fatigue-inertia of the POMS were also elevated post HYPER in females (P < 0.05), but not in ISO (P > 0.05) in either sex.

Conclusions

Hypertonic saline infusion acutely degrades mood state, and women appear to have a more pronounced response. The underlying mechanisms remain to be determined but may be related to higher copeptin levels in women.

The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT02761434.

Funding Sources

Danone Research.

Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs

The role of reactive oxygen species, cytokines and cytochrome P450 in pulmonary damage due to hyperoxia

The exact mechanism of hyperoxic damage and the (therapeutic) protection against these lesions are still a matter of debate. Recent experimental studies indicated a role for cytokines, cytochrome P450, and antioxidant enzymes in protection against O2 toxicity. In this paper a hypothesis is presented linking all these factors to cytochrome P450 oxidase as a central enzyme.