Urine Phthalate Levels and Liver Function in US Adolescents: Analyses of NHANES 2007–2016

BACKGROUND: Phthalates are non-persistent chemicals with endocrine-disrupting abilities widely used in a variety of consumer products. Evidence for the effects of phthalate exposure on liver function in adolescents is lacking. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the combined 2007–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Ultimately, a total of 1,650 adolescents aged 12–19 years were selected as the samples. Weighted linear regression was used to investigate the effects of urinary phthalate metabolites on liver function indexes. RESULTS: Weighted Linear regression models showed that MCOP was negatively associated with TBIL (β = −0.0435, P(FDR) = 0.007), ΣDEHP (β = −0.0453, P(FDR) = 0.003) and MCOP (β = −0.0379, P(FDR) = 0.006) were negatively correlated with ALB, while MCPP was positively correlated with ALB (β = 0.0339, P(FDR) = 0.024), and MCOP was negatively correlated with TP (β = −0.0551; P(FDR) = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Phthalate metabolites were significantly but weakly associated with changes in liver function indicators among US adolescents. Future work should further examine these relationships.