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BACKGROUND: Triclosan (TCS) is widely used as an antibacterial agent in consumer products such as hand soap and toothpaste, and human exposure is widespread. TCS is suspected of having endocrine-disrupting properties, but few human studies have examined the developmental effects of prenatal TCS exposure. OBJECTIVES: We prospectively examined associations between prenatal TCS exposure and anthropometric measures at birth and anogenital distance (AGD) at 3 months of age. METHODS: Pregnant women from the Odense Child Cohort (n = 514) provided urine samples at approximately gestational week 28 (median 28.7 weeks, range 26.4-34.0), and urinary TCS concentration was measured by isotope dilution TurboFlow-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine associations between prenatal TCS exposure and measures of size at birth (birth weight, length, head and abdominal circumference) and AGD at 3 months of age (median 3.3 months, range 2.3-6.7 months), controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Newborn boys in the highest quartile of prenatal TCS exposure had a 0.7-cm [95% confidence interval (CI): -1.2, -0.1, p = 0.01] smaller head circumference than boys in the lowest quartile. Additionally in boys, inverse associations of borderline statistical significance were observed between prenatal TCS exposure and abdominal circumference at birth and AGD at 3 months of age (p-values < 0.10). Prenatal TCS exposure was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes in girls. However, AGD was measured in fewer girls, and we observed no significant interactions between a child's sex and prenatal TCS exposure in anthropometric measures at birth. CONCLUSION: Prenatal TCS exposure was associated with reduced head and abdominal circumference at birth and with reduced AGD at 3 months of age in boys, although the last two findings were statistically nonsignificant. These findings require replication but are compatible with an anti-androgenic effect of prenatal TCS exposure on fetal growth in boys. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409637, Introduction Triclosan (TCS) is a biocide used as an antibacterial and antifungal agent in a number of consumer products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, disinfectants, and soaps (Dann and Hontela 2011). [...]

BACKGROUND: Phthalates comprise a large class of chemicals used in a variety of consumer products. Several have anti-androgenic properties, and in rodents prenatal exposure has been associated with reduced anogenital distance (AGD)--the distance from the anus to the genitals in male offspring. Few human studies have been conducted, but associations between the anti-androgenic phthalates and male AGD have been reported. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the association between phthalate exposure in late pregnancy in Danish women pregnant in 2010-2012 and AGD in their male infants at 3 months of age (n = 273). METHODS: In the Odense child cohort study, urinary concentrations of 12 phthalate metabolites of diethyl, di-n-butyl, diisobutyl, di(2-ethylhexyl), butylbenzyl, and diisononyl phthalate (DEP, DnBP, DiBP, DEHP, BBzP, and DiNP, respectively) were measured among 245 mothers of boys at approximately gestational week 28 (range, 20.4-30.4) and adjusted for osmolality. AGD, penile width, and weight were measured 3 months after the expected date of birth. Associations between prenatal phthalate and AGD and penile width were estimated using multivariable linear regression adjusting for age and weight-for-age standard deviation score. RESULTS: Phthalate levels were lower in this population than in a recent Swedish study in which phthalates were measured in the first trimester. No consistent associations were seen between any prenatal phthalate and AGD or penile width. Most associations were negative for exposures above the first quartile, and for ln-transformed exposures modeled as continuous variables, but there were no consistent dose-response patterns, and associations were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We found no significant trends towards shorter AGD in boys with higher phthalates exposures in this low exposed Danish population. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509870, Introduction Phthalates are used as plasticizers in soft polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and found in a large number of commonly used consumer products including food, building materials, plastics, cosmetics, cleaning products, [...]

In the Odense child cohort, serum concentrations of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) were measured in 649 pregnant women at approximately 12 weeks of gestation. Birth weight, head and abdominal circumferences were measured, and gestational age determined. Anogenital distance (AGD), i.e., the distance from the anus to the genital organs, penile width and body weight were measured 3 months after the expected date of birth in 511 children. PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA and PFDA were associated with a decreased AGD in girls (p-trend<0.05) after adjusting for age and weight-for-age standard deviation score. Specifically, PFOS in the highest quartile was associated with a 2.8mm (95% confidence intervals -4.5;-1.1) reduction in AGD in girls. No such tendencies were seen in boys. However, a tendency toward increased birth weight in girls and reduced in boys suggests that sex-dimorphic effects may occur from endocrine disrupting effects of these substances., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.)