Phthalates in Egyptian premenstrual girls
Egyptian girls had much less MBzP than US girls but several-fold more MiBP, especially with plastic food storage.
Source
Exposure to phthalates among premenstrual girls from rural and urban Gharbiah, Egypt: a pilot exposure assessment study
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — Pilot urinary phthalate comparison of rural vs urban Egyptian girls and NHANES matches
- N
- N=60 · 30 urban and 30 rural premenstrual girls (mean age 11.5)
- Population
- Premenstrual girls in Gharbiah, Egypt
- Outcome
- Urinary phthalate metabolites (MEP, MiBP, MBzP) by urbanicity and food-storage practices
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
What they did
Measured urinary phthalate metabolites in 30 urban and 30 rural premenstrual girls from Gharbiah, Egypt, and compared them with matched NHANES girls.
What they found
MEP was highest (urban median 98.8 ng/mL); SG-adjusted MBzP, MCPP, and MiBP were higher in urban girls; MiBP rose with plastic storage and canned food; US MBzP medians were far higher.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Small sample cannot explain urban–rural breast-cancer differences by phthalates alone.
Key terms
- Phthalate
- Plasticizer chemical; metabolites measured in urine.
- MEP
- Monoethyl phthalate, from diethyl phthalate.
- MiBP
- Mono-isobutyl phthalate, from DiBP.
- MBzP
- Monobenzyl phthalate, from benzyl butyl phthalate.
- DEHP
- Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate used in flexible PVC.
- Specific gravity
- Urine-dilution adjustment metric.
Flashcards
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Quiz yourself
Urban and rural n:
Common questions
Sample?
30 urban and 30 rural girls.
Mean age?
11.5 years.
Highest metabolite?
MEP.
Urban MEP median?
98.8 ng/mL.
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