Single and combined brominated flame retardants exposures are associated with sex steroid hormones in US adults: NHANES 2013-2016 analysis.

IF 2.8 4区医学 Q2 REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Reproductive toxicology Pub Date : 2025-10-01 Epub Date: 2025-08-06 DOI:10.1016/j.reprotox.2025.109023

Guan Cheng, Jiahui Wen, Feng Zhang, Rui Qu, Zhimin Deng, Fangfang Dai, Yanfei Xiao, Mengyang Dai, Tailang Yin, Jie Yan, Yan Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are endocrine-disrupting contaminants; however, the impact of BFR mixtures on sex steroid hormone levels in adults remains unclear.

Methods: This study included 2513 male and female adults from the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Weighted linear regression was employed to examine the associations between individual BFR exposures and total testosterone(TT), estradiol(E2), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), and TT/E2. The generalized additive model (GAM) was used to explore the nonlinear associations between BFRs and sex steroid hormones. Additionally, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression and Quantile G-computation (QGC) were applied to evaluate the overall effects of BFRs mixtures on these five sex hormone biomarkers and to identify key contributing chemicals. We also explored potential effect modifications by age, BMI and educational level.

Result: The weighted linear regression results indicated that, after adjusting for covariates, PBDE209 was significantly negatively associated with SHBG in males (β = -8.495, 95 % CI: -15.915, -1.073), while PBB153 and PBDE85 were negatively associated with female TT/E2 (β = -0.718, 95 % CI: -1.362, -0.075) and E2 (β = -2.910, 95 % CI: -5.126, -0.693), respectively. The Generalized Additive Model (GAM) revealed nonlinear associations between certain BFRs and TT, E2, FAI, and TT/E2 in both males and females. WQS regression analysis showed a significant negative association between the WQS index and male SHBG (β = -1.919, 95 % CI: -3.706, -0.133), which was consistent with the results from the weighted linear regression. However, no significant associations were observed between mixed BFR exposure and female sex hormone levels. Further confirmation of the WQS regression findings was provided by QGC analysis. Notably, PBDE209 was identified as the primary BFR influencing SHBG levels.

Conclusion: Exposure to mixed BFRs significantly affects SHBG levels in adult males, while no significant impact on sex steroid hormone levels was observed in adult females. Further studies are required to evaluate the potential long-term health consequences.

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NHANES 2013-2016分析：美国成年人单一和组合溴化阻燃剂暴露与性类固醇激素相关

背景：溴化阻燃剂（BFRs）是内分泌干扰污染物；然而，BFR混合物对成人性类固醇激素水平的影响尚不清楚。方法：本研究纳入2013-2016年全国健康与营养调查（NHANES）的2513名成年男女。采用加权线性回归检验个体BFR暴露与总睾酮（TT）、雌二醇（E2）、性激素结合球蛋白（SHBG）、游离雄激素指数（FAI）和TT/E2之间的关系。采用广义加性模型（GAM）探讨了BFRs与性类固醇激素之间的非线性关系。此外，应用加权分位数和（WQS）回归和分位数g计算（QGC）来评估BFRs混合物对这五种性激素生物标志物的总体影响，并确定关键的贡献化学物质。我们还探讨了年龄、身体质量指数和教育水平对潜在效果的影响。结果：加权线性回归结果显示，调整共变量后，PBDE209与男性SHBG呈显著负相关（β = -8.495, 95% CI: -15.915, -1.073）， PBB153和PBDE85与女性TT/E2呈显著负相关（β = -0.718, 95% CI: -1.362, -0.075）， E2呈显著负相关（β = -2.910, 95% CI: -5.126, -0.693）。广义加性模型（GAM）揭示了某些BFRs与男性和女性的TT、E2、FAI和TT/E2之间的非线性关联。WQS回归分析显示，WQS指数与男性SHBG呈显著负相关（β = -1.919, 95% CI: -3.706, -0.133），与加权线性回归结果一致。然而，没有观察到混合BFR暴露与女性性激素水平之间的显著关联。QGC分析进一步证实了WQS回归结果。值得注意的是，PBDE209被确定为影响SHBG水平的主要BFR。结论：混合bfr暴露显著影响成年男性SHBG水平，而对成年女性性类固醇激素水平无显著影响。需要进一步的研究来评估潜在的长期健康后果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Reproductive toxicology 生物-毒理学

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

3.00%

发文量

131

审稿时长

45 days

期刊介绍： Drawing from a large number of disciplines, Reproductive Toxicology publishes timely, original research on the influence of chemical and physical agents on reproduction. Written by and for obstetricians, pediatricians, embryologists, teratologists, geneticists, toxicologists, andrologists, and others interested in detecting potential reproductive hazards, the journal is a forum for communication among researchers and practitioners. Articles focus on the application of in vitro, animal and clinical research to the practice of clinical medicine. All aspects of reproduction are within the scope of Reproductive Toxicology, including the formation and maturation of male and female gametes, sexual function, the events surrounding the fusion of gametes and the development of the fertilized ovum, nourishment and transport of the conceptus within the genital tract, implantation, embryogenesis, intrauterine growth, placentation and placental function, parturition, lactation and neonatal survival. Adverse reproductive effects in males will be considered as significant as adverse effects occurring in females. To provide a balanced presentation of approaches, equal emphasis will be given to clinical and animal or in vitro work. Typical end points that will be studied by contributors include infertility, sexual dysfunction, spontaneous abortion, malformations, abnormal histogenesis, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity, behavioral abnormalities, and perinatal mortality.