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  • Clinical Research Article
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Prenatal phthalate exposure and fetal penile length and width

Pediatric Research (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals with anti-androgenic qualities and studies reported associations between prenatal phthalate exposure and infant genitalia. This study investigated whether increased prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with decreased fetal penile measures.

Methods

Data was from the New York University Children’s Health and Environment Study (2016–2019). Maternal urinary concentrations of 16 phthalate metabolites were quantified at <18 weeks gestation as a proxy for fetal exposure (n = 334 male pregnancies). We retrospectively measured penile length and width using ultrasounds conducted 18–24 weeks gestation (n = 173 fetuses). Associations of maternal urinary levels of phthalates with fetal penile length and width were determined using linear regression models.

Results

57.2% of women were Hispanic, 31.8% Non-Hispanic White, 6.4% Asian, 2.3% Non-Hispanic Black, and 2.3% multiple races. Mean maternal age was 32 years (standard deviation [SD] = 5.7). Mean penile length was 7.13 mm (SD = 1.47) and width was 6.16 mm (SD = 0.87). An inverse relationship was observed between maternal levels of mono-ethyl phthalate and fetal penile length, and mono-(7-carboxy-n-heptyl) phthalate and penile width, though estimates were small and not significant when considering correction for multiple comparisons.

Conclusions

In our cohort we found no clinically meaningful associations between early pregnancy phthalate exposure and fetal penile length or width.

Impact

  • First-trimester phthalate metabolites were assessed in pregnant women in New York City.

  • Penile length and width were retrospectively measured on clinically assessed ultrasounds conducted ≥18 weeks and <24 weeks of gestation.

  • In this cohort, no clinically meaningful associations were observed between first-trimester prenatal phthalate exposure and fetal penile length.

  • This study contributes to the limited but growing research on the impact of prenatal phthalate exposure on male fetal genital development.

  • The results emphasize that there may not be a clear association between prenatal phthalate exposure and fetal penile length and width, and further research on this topic may be required.

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Fig. 1: Measurement of the Fetal Penis in Transverse View.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all of the NYU CHES participants and staff for their important contributions.

Funding

This work was supported by the institutional funds of NYU Grossman School of Medicine as well as the NIH Office of the Director (UG3/UH3OD023305). The work of Akhgar Ghassabian is supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01ES032826).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole B. Salvi, Akhgar Ghassabian, Hongxiu Liu, Linda G. Kahn & Leonardo Trasande

  2. Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Akhgar Ghassabian, Hongxiu Liu, Linda G. Kahn & Leonardo Trasande

  3. Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Akhgar Ghassabian & Leonardo Trasande

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Sara G. Brubaker & Shilpi S. Mehta-Lee

  5. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430000, Hubei, P. R. China

    Hongxiu Liu

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Contributions

Substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data: N.B.S., A.G., S.G.B., H.L., and S.S.M.-L. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content: N.B.S., A.G., S.G.B., L.G.K., and S.S.M.-L. Final approval of the version to be published: N.B.S., A.G., S.G.B., H.L., L.G.K., L.T., and S.S.M.-L.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akhgar Ghassabian.

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All participating women provided written informed consent and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

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Salvi, N.B., Ghassabian, A., Brubaker, S.G. et al. Prenatal phthalate exposure and fetal penile length and width. Pediatr Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02939-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02939-x

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