ArticleEnvironment international2025
Prenatal exposure to phthalates and alternative plasticizers and emotional and behavioral outcomes in early childhood in the Environmental influences on Child Health outcomes (ECHO) cohort.
Abstract read
In one paragraph
Article in Environment international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.
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.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Prenatal and childhood exposure to common plasticizers and risk-taking behavior in young adolescents.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Pollutant Burden in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Mechanistic Convergence, Genetic Susceptibility, and Clinical Translation.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Prenatal and childhood exposure to common plasticizers in relation to emotional and behavioral development through adolescence.The Science of the total environment · 2026Article
- Gestational Exposure to 10 Classes of Priority Chemicals and Birth Outcomes in the ECHO Cohort.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Early life phthalate and replacement plasticizer exposures and changes in early childhood brain functional connectivity and structural morphology.Environment international · 2026Article
- Bridging the Gap: How environmental exposures compromise male fertility and clinical Outlook.Current research in toxicology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
28 authors.
Jiwon OhDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Medical Sciences 1C, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: jiwoh@ucdavis.edu.
Jessie P BuckleyDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 135 Dauer Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: Jessie.Buckley@unc.edu.
Sudhi UpadhyayaDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: supadhy8@jhu.edu.
Kurunthachalam KannanDivision of Environmental Health Sciences, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12222, USA. Electronic address: kurunthachalam.kannan@health.ny.gov.
Emily S BarrettDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Ln W, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 170 Frelinghuysen Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. Electronic address: esb104@eohsi.rutgers.edu.
Theresa M BastainDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, 1845 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA. Electronic address: bastain@usc.edu.
Carrie V BretonDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, 1845 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA. Electronic address: breton@usc.edu.
Stephanie M EickGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd N E, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Electronic address: stephanie.marie.eick@emory.edu.
Sarah Dee GeigerDepartment of Health and Kinesiology, and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: smurphy7@illinois.edu.
Akhgar GhassabianDepartment of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave., New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address: Akhgar.Ghassabian@nyulangone.org.
Rima HabreDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, 1845 N Soto St, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA. Electronic address: habre@usc.edu.
Julie B HerbstmanDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: jh2678@cumc.columbia.edu.
Deborah HirtzDepartment of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont Medical Center, 111 Colchester Ave, Burlington, VT 05401, USA. Electronic address: deborah.hirtz@uvmhealth.org.
Donghai LiangGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd N E, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Electronic address: donghai.liang@emory.edu.
Kaja LeWinnDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 675 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. Electronic address: kaja.lewinn@ucsf.edu.
John D MeekerDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: meekerj@umich.edu.
Thomas G O'ConnorDepartments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd. Rochester, NY 14627, USA. Electronic address: tom_oconnor@urmc.Rochester.edu.
Irva Hertz-PicciottoDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Medical Sciences 1C, Davis, CA 95616, USA; UC Davis MIND Institute, 2825 50th St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: iher@ucdavis.edu.
Douglas RudenDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, 42 W Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: douglasr@wayne.edu.
Sheela SathyanarayanaDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Washington and Seattle Children's Research Institute, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: sheela.sathyanarayana@seattlechildrens.org.
Susan L SchantzDepartment of Psychology, and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: schantz@illinois.edu.
Julie B SchweitzerUC Davis MIND Institute, 2825 50th St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, 4610 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: jschweitzer@ucdavis.edu.
Anat SigalPediatrics, Hackensack University Medical Center, 30 Prospect Ave, Hackensack, NJ 07601, USA. Electronic address: anat.sigal@hmhn.org.
Tracey J WoodruffProgram on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 490 Illinois Street, Floor 10, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address: tracey.woodruff@ucsf.edu.
Qi ZhaoDepartment of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 920 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38163, USA. Electronic address: qzhao11@uthsc.edu.
Rebecca J SchmidtDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Medical Sciences 1C, Davis, CA 95616, USA; UC Davis MIND Institute, 2825 50th St, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. Electronic address: rjschmidt@ucdavis.edu.
Deborah H BennettDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Medical Sciences 1C, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: dhbennett@ucdavis.edu.
ECHO Cohort Consortium
Funding
Project-005U2COD023375 · OD · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI Linda S Adair, Phillip Brian Smith · 2016 to 2026
$215.9MECHODAC (Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Data Analysis Center)U24OD023382 · OD · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Diane J Catellier, LISA P JACOBSON · 2016 to 2026
$148.4MWisconsin Infant Study Cohort (WISC) ECHO Pediatric Follow-UpUH3OD023282 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI James E. Gern · 2018 to 2026
$64.8MThe NYU Children’s Health & Environment Study: an ECHO CohortUH3OD023305 · OD · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Akhgar Ghassabian, Leonardo Trasande · 2018 to 2026
$59.5MMount Sinai ECHO site for Perinatal Environment and Development StudiesUH3OD023337 · OD · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · PI KECIA Nicole CARROLL, Robert O Wright · 2018 to 2026
$54.1MA prospective study of critical environmental exposures in formative early life that impact lifelong health in rural US children: the New Hampshire Birth Cohort StudyUH3OD023275 · OD · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI MARGARET Rita KARAGAS, Juliette Madan · 2018 to 2026
$44.3MThe ECHO Measurement Core: A Framework and Resource for Assessing Environmental Exposure and Child HealthU24OD023319 · OD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Courtney K Blackwell, RICHARD GERSHON · 2016 to 2026
$43.7MPrenatal and Early Childhood Pathways To Health: An Integrated Model of Chemical and Social Exposures, Biological Mechanisms, and Sex-Specific Effects on Neurodevelopment and Respiratory OutcomesUH3OD023271 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI BUSH, NICOLE RENEE, KARR, CATHERINE J · 2018 to 2022
$37.3MECHO Laboratory Core at Vanderbilt for Integrated Sample Biobanking and ProcessingU24OD035523 · OD · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI Suman Ranjan Das, NATASHA Bassam HALASA · 2023 to 2026
$32.8MEnvironmental Influences on Childhood Outcomes in the Northern Plains Safe Passage Study CohortsUH3OD023279 · OD · AVERA MCKENNAN · PI Amy J Elliott, Christine W Hockett · 2018 to 2026
$31.7MLifecourse Approach to Developmental Repercussions of Environmental Agents on Metabolic and Respiratory Health (LA DREAMERs)UH3OD023287 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI BASTAIN, THERESA M, BRETON, CARRIE VAN DOREN · 2018 to 2022
$28.4MThe NYU Children’s Health & Environment Study: an ECHO CohortUG3OD023305 · OD · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI TRASANDE, LEONARDO · 2016 to 2024
$26.5MNIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES017885NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES023513NIEHS NIH HHS R24 ES028533NIEHS NIH HHS U24 ES026539NIEHS NIH HHS U24 ES028533NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES026533NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES026542NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES026555NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES026561NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES030851NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES030857NIEHS NIH HHS U2C ES030859NIH HHS U24 OD023319NIH HHS U24 OD023382NIH HHS U24 OD035523NIH HHS U2C OD023375NIH HHS UG3 OD023244NIH HHS UG3 OD023248NIH HHS UG3 OD023249NIH HHS UG3 OD023251NIH HHS UG3 OD023253NIH HHS UG3 OD023272NIH HHS UG3 OD023275NIH HHS UG3 OD023279NIH HHS UG3 OD023282NIH HHS UG3 OD023285NIH HHS UG3 OD023288NIH HHS UG3 OD023289NIH HHS UG3 OD023290NIH HHS UG3 OD023305NIH HHS UG3 OD023313NIH HHS UG3 OD023337NIH HHS UG3 OD023342NIH HHS UG3 OD023344NIH HHS UG3 OD023348NIH HHS UG3 OD023349NIH HHS UG3 OD023365NIH HHS UG3 OD023389NIH HHS UG3 OD035508NIH HHS UG3 OD035509NIH HHS UG3 OD035513NIH HHS UG3 OD035516NIH HHS UG3 OD035517NIH HHS UG3 OD035518NIH HHS UG3 OD035519NIH HHS UG3 OD035521NIH HHS UG3 OD035526NIH HHS UG3 OD035527NIH HHS UG3 OD035528NIH HHS UG3 OD035529NIH HHS UG3 OD035532NIH HHS UG3 OD035533NIH HHS UG3 OD035536NIH HHS UG3 OD035537NIH HHS UG3 OD035540NIH HHS UG3 OD035542NIH HHS UG3 OD035543NIH HHS UG3 OD035544NIH HHS UG3 OD035546NIH HHS UG3 OD035550NIH HHS UH3 OD023244NIH HHS UH3 OD023248NIH HHS UH3 OD023249NIH HHS UH3 OD023251NIH HHS UH3 OD023253NIH HHS UH3 OD023268NIH HHS UH3 OD023271NIH HHS UH3 OD023272NIH HHS UH3 OD023275NIH HHS UH3 OD023279NIH HHS UH3 OD023282NIH HHS UH3 OD023285NIH HHS UH3 OD023286NIH HHS UH3 OD023287NIH HHS UH3 OD023288NIH HHS UH3 OD023289NIH HHS UH3 OD023290NIH HHS UH3 OD023305NIH HHS UH3 OD023313NIH HHS UH3 OD023318NIH HHS UH3 OD023320NIH HHS UH3 OD023328NIH HHS UH3 OD023332NIH HHS UH3 OD023337NIH HHS UH3 OD023342NIH HHS UH3 OD023344NIH HHS UH3 OD023347NIH HHS UH3 OD023348NIH HHS UH3 OD023349NIH HHS UH3 OD023365NIH HHS UH3 OD023389NIH HHS UH3 OD035550
Abstract
backgroundEvidence suggests prenatal phthalate exposure adversely affects children's behavior. However, epidemiological studies on alternative plasticizers remain scarce. This study investigated associations of gestational exposure to phthalates and alternative plasticizers with internalizing and externalizing behaviors in children aged 1.5-5 years.
methodsThe study included 2617 mother-child dyads from 13 Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohorts. Maternal urine samples, primarily collected mid- to late-pregnancy, were analyzed for 27 phthalate metabolites and 6 alternative plasticizer metabolites. Based on detection frequency, metabolite concentrations were modeled either continuously or categorically (Group 1: non-detectable, 2: lower detectable, 3: higher detectable). Covariate-adjusted associations between individual metabolite concentrations and internalizing and externalizing T-scores on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½-5 were estimated using linear mixed-effects models. Effect modification by child sex was also examined.
resultsAn interquartile range increase in mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) and membership in Group 3, versus Group 1, for mono-hexyl phthalate (MHxP) were associated with higher externalizing T-scores (β
conclusionThis large-scale study suggests that prenatal exposure to several phthalates, but not to the alternative plasticizer DINCH, may be associated with a small-to-modest increase in externalizing behaviors in young children.
Indexed as
Child BehaviorEnvironmental PollutantsMaternal ExposurePhthalic AcidsPlasticizersPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsAdultChild HealthChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesEmotionsFemaleHumansInfantMalePregnancyEnvironmental Pollutantsphthalic acidPhthalic AcidsPlasticizersAlternative plasticizersBehaviorsNeurodevelopmentPhthalatesPregnancy
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.