Temporal variability of urinary di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites during a dietary intervention study

Abstract

Exposure to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) may be related to adverse health effects including developmental and reproductive disorders, prompting interest in strategies for reducing human exposure. We previously reported a reduction of DEHP metabolite levels in composite urine samples by more than 50% (geometric means) during a 3-day dietary intervention avoiding plastics in food packaging, preparation, and storage. I. The present study, we analyzed individual spot urine samples before compositing in order to evaluate temporal variability. There were no meaningful changes in any o. The previous findings when using individual rather than composited samples. Individual urine samples, lik. The composites, showed significant decreases of ≥50% in all three measured DEHP metabolites durin. The intervention. Compositing urine samples provided sufficient information to observ. The effect o. The intervention, whereas reducing analytical expenses compared with analyzing multiple samples individually. Low intraclass correlations (ICCs) for samples collected fro. The same person befor. The intervention indicat. The importance of collecting multiple samples per exposure condition. Substantially larger ICCs during and afte. The intervention suggest that much o. The variability observed in DEHP metabolite levels originates from dietary exposure.