Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17589594›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2007

Concentrations of urinary phthalate metabolites are associated with increased waist circumference and insulin resistance in adult U.S. males.

Richard W Stahlhut, Edwin van Wijngaarden, Timothy D Dye, Stephen Cook, Shanna H Swan

Erratum issued Registry-linked trialOpen access · diamondAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT02284477 (Associations of Exposure to Phthalates With Insulin Resistance and Epigenetic Change), which is not on this map. Cited by 230 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
230citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
17.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02284477 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2015, after this paper: background citation

Associations of Exposure to Phthalates With Insulin Resistance and Epigenetic Change

TypeinterventionalSponsorSeoul National University HospitalRan2015 to 2015Enrolled60ConditionsInsulin Resistance, Decreased Pulmonary FunctionArmsnon- PVC containing packing materials, PVC containing packing materials
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

230 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 639 citations in OpenAlex.

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  11. Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Food: Dietary Toxicology Beyond Particle Counts.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2026
    Review
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  20. Hepatoprotective effect of royal jelly on dibutyl phthalate-induced liver injury in rats.Veterinary research forum : an international quarterly journal · 2025
    Article

170 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

  • Erratum issued
5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Richard W StahlhutDepartment of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642, USA. richard_stahlhut@urmc.rochester.edu
Edwin van Wijngaarden
Timothy D Dye
Stephen Cook
Shanna H Swan
University of Rochester · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhthalates impair rodent testicular function and have been associated with anti-androgenic effects in humans, including decreased testosterone levels. Low testosterone in adult human males has been associated with increased prevalence of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.

objectivesOur objective in this study was to investigate phthalate exposure and its associations with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance.

methodsSubjects were adult U.S. male participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002. We modeled six phthalate metabolites with prevalent exposure and known or suspected antiandrogenic activity as predictors of waist circumference and log-transformed homeostatic model assessment (HOMA; a measure of insulin resistance) using multiple linear regression, adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, fat and total calorie consumption, physical activity level, serum cotinine, and urine creatinine (model 1); and adjusted for model 1 covariates plus measures of renal and hepatic function (model 2). Metabolites were mono-butyl phthalates (MBP), mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-(2-ethyl)-hexyl phthalate (MEHP), mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), and mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP).

resultsIn model 1, four metabolites were associated with increased waist circumference (MBzP, MEHHP, MEOHP, and MEP; p-values </= 0.013) and three with increased HOMA (MBP, MBzP, and MEP; p-values </= 0.011). When we also adjusted for renal and hepatic function, parameter estimates declined but all significant results remained so except HOMA-MBP.

conclusionsIn this national cross-section of U.S. men, concentrations of several prevalent phthalate metabolites showed statistically significant correlations with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance. If confirmed by longitudinal studies, our findings would suggest that exposure to these phthalates may contribute to the population burden of obesity, insulin resistance, and related clinical disorders.

Indexed as

Environmental ExposureAdultAge FactorsBiomarkersBody Weights and MeasuresCotinineCreatinineDietHumansInsulin ResistanceLinear ModelsMaleObesityPhthalic AcidsUnited StatesBiomarkersCotinineCreatininephthalic acidPhthalic Acids

Identifiers

PMID17589594
PMCPMC1892109
OpenAlexW2155797089

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.