Associations between medication use and phthalate metabolites in urine and follicular fluid among women undergoing in vitro fertilization

Background Phthalates, which are used as excipients of drugs, have been related to adverse reproductive outcomes. However, the relationships between medication use and phthalate exposure among women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) have not been studied. Objective To investigate the associations between the medication intake and phthalate metabolites in urine and follicular fluid (FF). Method Eight phthalate metabolites were measured in urine and FF samples from 274 women undergoing IVF using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Information on recent medication intake was obtained via interview by trained staff. We constructed generalized linear regression models to examine the associations of medication intake with phthalate metabolite concentrations and dose-response relationships between the number of medicines used and metabolite concentrations in two matrices. Results Four of 10 drugs were used by more than 10% of the participants, including vitamins (23.0%), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, 22.3%), antioxidants (12.4%) and amoxicillin (10.2%). Participants who had used TCM had 26.0% (95% CI: 0.0, 58.8%), 32.6% (95% CI: 4.2, 68.8%) and 32.3% (95% CI: 2.6, 70.6%) higher urinary mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) concentrations, respectively, than those who had not. Antioxidant intake was associated with a 30.6% (95% CI: −48.5, −6.6%) decrease in the urinary MBP concentration. Compared with non-users, women who reported the use of medicines had 53.2% (95% CI: 2.7, 128.5%) higher concentrations of MMP and a 37.7% (95% CI: −60.7, −1.5%) lower level of MBP in FF, respectively. Conclusion Our data suggest that the intake of some medications may increase phthalate exposure among women undergoing IVF.