Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27019040›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental research2016

Maternal phthalate exposure during pregnancy is associated with DNA methylation of LINE-1 and Alu repetitive elements in Mexican-American children.

Karen Huen, Antonia M Calafat, Asa Bradman, Paul Yousefi, Brenda Eskenazi, Nina Holland

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. Maternal Nutrition, Toxicants, and Epigenetic Programming of Obesity Across Generations.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Karen HuenCenter for Children's Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1995 University Avenue Suite 265, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: khuen@berkeley.edu.
Antonia M CalafatCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS F17, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: aic7@cdc.gov.
Asa BradmanCenter for Children's Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1995 University Avenue Suite 265, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: abradman@berkeley.edu.
Paul YousefiCenter for Children's Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1995 University Avenue Suite 265, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: yousefi@berkeley.edu.
Brenda EskenaziCenter for Children's Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1995 University Avenue Suite 265, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: eskenazi@berkeley.edu.
Nina HollandCenter for Children's Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 1995 University Avenue Suite 265, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: ninah@berkeley.edu.
Center for Children · USCenter for Environmental Health · USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · USUniversity of California, Berkeley · US

Funding

Project C: Epigenetic Effects of DDT/E and PBDEs on PubertyP01ES009605 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI ESKENAZI, BRENDA · 1999 to 2015
$11.2M
Molecular Mechanisms of Obesity in Children Exposed to Phthalates in UteroR01ES021369 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI HOLLAND, NINA T · 2013 to 2017
$3.1M
NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES009605NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES021369
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Phthalates are frequently used in personal care products and plasticizers and phthalate exposure is ubiquitous in the US population. Exposure to phthalates during critical periods in utero has been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes but the biological mechanisms linking these exposures with disease are not well characterized. In this study, we examined the relationship of in utero phthalate exposure with repetitive element DNA methylation, an epigenetic marker of genome instability, in children from the longitudinal birth cohort CHAMACOS. Methylation of Alu and long interspersed nucleotide elements (LINE-1) was determined using pyrosequencing of bisulfite-treated DNA isolated from whole blood samples collected from newborns and 9 year old children (n=355). Concentrations of eleven phthalate metabolites were measured in urine collected from pregnant mothers at 13 and 26 weeks gestation. We found a consistent inverse association between prenatal concentrations of monoethyl phthalate, the most frequently detected urinary metabolite, with cord blood methylation of Alu repeats (β(95%CI): -0.14 (-0.28,0.00) and -0.16 (-0.31, -0.02)) for early and late pregnancy, respectively, and a similar but weaker association with LINE-1 methylation. Additionally, increases in urinary concentrations of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites during late pregnancy were associated with lower levels of methylation of Alu repeats in 9 year old blood (significant p-values ranged from 0.003 to 0.03). Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to some phthalates may influence differences in repetitive element methylation, highlighting epigenetics as a plausible biological mechanism through which phthalates may affect health.

Indexed as

Alu ElementsDNA MethylationEnvironmental PollutantsLong Interspersed Nucleotide ElementsMaternal ExposurePhthalic AcidsAdolescentAdultBiomarkersChildEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleFetal BloodHumansInfant, NewbornMaleBiomarkersEnvironmental PollutantsPhthalic AcidsAlu repeatsDNA methylationIn Utero exposureLINE-1 repeatsPhthalate

Identifiers

PMID27019040
PMCPMC4874877
OpenAlexW2311022525

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.