Background: Personal care products are a source of exposure to potentially endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, triclosan, and benzophenone-3 (BP-3) for adolescent girls.
Methods: We enrolled 100 Latina girls in a youth-led, community-based participatory research intervention study to determine whether using personal care products whose labels stated they did not contain these chemicals for 3 days could lower urinary concentrations. Pre- and postintervention urine samples were analyzed for phthalate metabolites, parabens, triclosan, and BP-3 using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.
Results: Urinary concentrations of mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP) decreased by 27.4% (95% CI: –39.3, –13.2) on average over the 3-day intervention; no significant changes were seen in urinary concentrations of mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) and mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP). Methyl and propyl paraben concentrations decreased by 43.9% (95% CI: –61.3, –18.8) and 45.4% (95% CI: –63.7, –17.9), respectively. Unexpectedly, concentrations of ethyl and butyl paraben concentrations increased, although concentrations were low overall and not detected in almost half the samples. Triclosan concentrations decreased by 35.7% (95% CI: –53.3, –11.6), and BP-3 concentrations decreased by 36.0% (95% CI: –51.0, –16.4).
Discussion: This study demonstrates that techniques available to consumers, such as choosing personal care products that are labeled to be free of phthalates, parabens, triclosan, and BP-3, can reduce personal exposure to possible endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Involving youth in the design and implementation of the study was key to recruitment, retention, compliance, and acceptability of the intervention.
1Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA; 2Environmental Health Laboratory, California Department of Public Heath, Richmond, California, USA; 3Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, Salinas, California, USA
Recommended Citation:
Kim G. Harley,1 Katherine Kogut,1 Daniel S. Madrigal,et al. Reducing Phthalate, Paraben, and Phenol Exposure from Personal Care Products in Adolescent Girls: Findings from the HERMOSA Intervention Study[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,Volume 124(Issue 10):1600