Urinary biomarkers of toxins in girls - pubertal development

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Signs for Girls

Biomarkers of Common Exposures

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2007/115-1/ss.html#sign

Urinary biomarkers are useful measures of environmental agents in the

body. However, little is known about levels of such biomarkers in children

and how they may vary by race, age, body mass index, and sex. A three-city

pilot study reported this month used urinary biomarkers to better

characterize a number of exposures in young girls.

EHP 115:116–121; Wolff et al

whole article via:

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/9488/abstract.html

The discovery of detectable urine levels of a range of hormonally active

substances in the children may shed light on how various biomarkers relate

to pubertal development.

Chemicals in kids. Scientists have identified useful biomarkers of girls'

exposure to chemicals including agents found in antimicrobial soaps,

shampoos, and other personal products.

image credit: Gubbins/Shutterstock

The study authors measured parent compounds and metabolites of

phytoestrogens, phthalates, and phenols in the urine of girls aged 6 to 9.

They tested for 25 biomarkers from 22 agents including triclosan (an

antimicrobial agent found in many household products), enterolactone (a

micronutrient from seeds and grains), and monoethyl phthalate (a

metabolite of phthalates used in shampoos, soaps, and cosmetics). The

chemical classes studied were chosen because of their suspected hormonal

activity and because they have been widely detected in the general

population.

The 90 girls in the pilot study were recruited in New York, Cincinnati,

and San Francisco, and included members of four racial/ethnic groups. The

pilot study sampled a relatively small population to determine whether

urinary biomarkers of the chemicals of concern would be detectable and

variable enough for meaningful comparisons of their concentrations in

relation to outcomes of female growth and development.

Most of the markers analyzed were found in more than 94% of the

participants. Nine of them—including metabolites of isoflavones found in

foods containing soy and of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, a softening agent

used in plastics—were found in all of the girls.

The team established that urinary metabolites of phenols, phthalates, and

phytoestrogens in children are detectable and variable enough to make

meaningful comparisons. And though the number of subjects was small,

preliminary results point to variations in concentrations of some

metabolites between girls of different races, as well as variation

according to body mass index, and seasonal variation during the year—all

factors that will be useful in dissecting the roles of the studied

chemical classes in breast cancer and other diseases.

McGovern

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