Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates is Associated with Reduced Masculine Behavior in Boys
Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D. and Bernard Weiss, Ph.D.
University of Rochester
P30ES001247, R21ES015509, and R01ES009916
University of Rochester researchers and NIEHS grantees Drs. Shanna Swan and Bernard Weiss report for the first time that prenatal exposure to phthalates causes reduced masculine behavior in boys. This finding adds to the growing list of health effects associated with phthalates and other endocrine disrupting compounds found in plastics.
Mothers, whose urine had been analyzed for phthalates in mid-pregnancy, completed a questionnaire including the Pre-School Activities Inventory used to assess gender differences in play behavior. The results show that concentrations of dibutyl phthalate and diethylhexyl phthalate metabolites in the mothers' urine samples were statistically associated with decreased masculine play behavior in boys who were an average of 5 years-old at the time of the assessment. There were no strong associations for any other phthalate metabolites nor were there any associations with girls' play behavior.
These data suggest that in utero exposure to antiandrogenic phthalates may be associated with less masculine behavior in boys. Although based on a relatively small sample (N=74 boys), the overall findings exhibit concern that environmental chemicals have the potential to alter androgen-responsive neurologic development in humans.
Citation: Swan SH, Liu F, Hines M, Kruse RL, Wang C, Redmon JB, Sparks A, Weiss B. Prenatal phthalate exposure and reduced masculine play in boys. Int J Androl. 2010 Apr;33(2):259-69.
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