In Utero Exposure to Select Phenols and Phthalates and Respiratory Health in Five-Year-Old Boys: A Prospective Study

BACKGROUND: Phenols and phthalates may have immunomodulatory and proinflammatory effects and thereby adversely affect respiratory health. OBJECTIVE: We estimated the associations between gestational exposure to select phthalates and phenols and respiratory health in boys. METHODS: Among 587 pregnant women from the EDEN (Etude des Déterminants pré et post natals du développement et de la santé de l’Enfant) cohort who delivered a boy, 9 phenols and 11 phthalates metabolites were quantified in spot pregnancy urine samples. Respiratory outcomes were followed up by questionnaires until age 5, when forced expiratory volume in 1 s ([Formula: see text]) was measured by spirometry. Adjusted associations of urinary metabolites log–transformed concentrations with respiratory outcomes and [Formula: see text] in percent predicted ([Formula: see text]) were estimated by survival and linear regression models, respectively. RESULTS: No phenol or phthalate metabolite exhibited clear deleterious associations simultaneously with several respiratory outcomes. Ethyl-paraben was associated with increased asthma rate [[Formula: see text]; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00, 1.21] and tended to be negatively associated with [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]; 95% CI: [Formula: see text] , 0.05); bisphenol A tended to be associated with increased rates of asthma diagnosis ([Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 0.97, 1.55) and bronchiolitis/bronchitis ([Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.30). Isolated trends for deleterious associations were also observed between 2,5-dichlorophenol and wheezing, and between monocarboxynonyl phthalate, a metabolite of di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP), and wheezing. CONCLUSION: Ethyl-paraben, bisphenol A, 2,5-dichlorophenol, and DIDP tended to be associated with altered respiratory health, with ethyl-paraben and bisphenol A exhibiting some consistency across respiratory outcomes. The trends between bisphenol A pregnancy level and increased asthma and bronchiolitis/bronchitis rates in childhood were consistent with a previous cohort study. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1015