Prenatal phthalate exposure and birth size: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Phthalates are common endocrine disruptors. The placental barrier can be crossed by phthalates and may have a negative impact on the health of the fetus. However, the association between prenatal exposure to phthalates and birth size is still debatable. Here, we performed this meta-analysis to assess the relationship between prenatal phthalates exposure and birth size. Eighteen studies were finally included by searching PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Ovid, and Web of Science databases and standardized regression coefficients and standard errors were used to pool effect size. Our results showed that prenatal exposure to MMP (=-0.04, 95%CI: −0.08, −0.01) and MEP (=-0.01, 95%CI: −0.01, −0.002) was significantly associated with birth weight. However, no significant associations were identified for phthalate exposure with birth length, head circumference and chest circumference. Because the limiting of studies, more high-quality case–control studies or cohort studies are urgently needed to draw the best conclusions.

KEYWORDS:

• Phthalate
• birth size
• meta-analysis
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by The Scientific Research Translational Foundation of Wenzhou Safety (Emergency) Institute of Tianjin University (TJUWYY2022019, TJUWYY2023001); the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFC3002205); Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin Science and Technology Program (21JCYBJC00830); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Nankai University (NO. 63221058).