Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study

BackgroundStudies have suggested that folate may mitigate the impact of exposure to environmental chemicals. We aimed to explore the relationship between blood folate biomarker concentrations and urine phthalate metabolites.MethodsBased on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surv...

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Main Authors: Xiaojing Huang, Huan Zhang, Yaoyu Luo, Chenhui Yang, Jue Huang, Ting Zhou, Junfeng Qi, Junlin Li, Shuzhen Zhu, Yaqin Zhang, Ling Zhang, Xiaojie Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Nutrition
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1542952/full
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author Xiaojing Huang
Xiaojing Huang
Huan Zhang
Huan Zhang
Yaoyu Luo
Chenhui Yang
Jue Huang
Jue Huang
Ting Zhou
Ting Zhou
Junfeng Qi
Junlin Li
Shuzhen Zhu
Yaqin Zhang
Ling Zhang
Ling Zhang
Xiaojie Sun
Xiaojie Sun
author_facet Xiaojing Huang
Xiaojing Huang
Huan Zhang
Huan Zhang
Yaoyu Luo
Chenhui Yang
Jue Huang
Jue Huang
Ting Zhou
Ting Zhou
Junfeng Qi
Junlin Li
Shuzhen Zhu
Yaqin Zhang
Ling Zhang
Ling Zhang
Xiaojie Sun
Xiaojie Sun
author_sort Xiaojing Huang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundStudies have suggested that folate may mitigate the impact of exposure to environmental chemicals. We aimed to explore the relationship between blood folate biomarker concentrations and urine phthalate metabolites.MethodsBased on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2005 to 2016, 8,218 participants with measurements of folate biomarkers in blood and phthalates exposure in urine were included. Survey generalized linear regression models and restricted cubic spline and generalized additive models were used to assess the associations between blood folate biomarker and urine phthalate metabolites.ResultsAfter adjusting for covariates, each unit increase in the natural logarithm-transformed serum folate concentration was associated with significant reductions of 7.41% in MEHP and 7.10% in MEHHP. After further adjustment for HEI-2020, these inverse associations strengthened to 8.11% (95% CI: −13.18, −2.76%) for MEHP and 8.07% (95% CI: −14.20, −1.52%) for MEHHP. Quartile analysis revealed that participants in the highest serum folate quartile exhibited significantly lower levels of MEHP, MEOHP, MECPP, and MEHHP compared to those in the lowest quartile (all p for trend <0.01). Furthermore, restricted cubic spline analyses and generalized additive models demonstrated significant inverse linear relationships between serum folate concentrations and MEHP, MEOHP, and MEHHP levels. No significant associations were observed between red blood cell folate concentrations and phthalate metabolites.ConclusionThese findings indicate that folate is associated with reduced concentrations of phthalate metabolites in urine, which may hold significant relevance for the utilization of folate as a strategy to reduce the accumulation of phthalate burden.
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spelling doaj-art-e643db55e1d347aab7f3704153ed26c22025-08-20T03:10:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2025-05-011210.3389/fnut.2025.15429521542952Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based studyXiaojing Huang0Xiaojing Huang1Huan Zhang2Huan Zhang3Yaoyu Luo4Chenhui Yang5Jue Huang6Jue Huang7Ting Zhou8Ting Zhou9Junfeng Qi10Junlin Li11Shuzhen Zhu12Yaqin Zhang13Ling Zhang14Ling Zhang15Xiaojie Sun16Xiaojie Sun17Department of Environmental Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Environmental Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan); Ministry of Environmental Protection, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaInstitute of Maternal and Child Health, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Environmental Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Environmental Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, ChinaGeriatric Hospital Affiliated with Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Environmental Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaDepartment of Environmental Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaHubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, ChinaBackgroundStudies have suggested that folate may mitigate the impact of exposure to environmental chemicals. We aimed to explore the relationship between blood folate biomarker concentrations and urine phthalate metabolites.MethodsBased on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2005 to 2016, 8,218 participants with measurements of folate biomarkers in blood and phthalates exposure in urine were included. Survey generalized linear regression models and restricted cubic spline and generalized additive models were used to assess the associations between blood folate biomarker and urine phthalate metabolites.ResultsAfter adjusting for covariates, each unit increase in the natural logarithm-transformed serum folate concentration was associated with significant reductions of 7.41% in MEHP and 7.10% in MEHHP. After further adjustment for HEI-2020, these inverse associations strengthened to 8.11% (95% CI: −13.18, −2.76%) for MEHP and 8.07% (95% CI: −14.20, −1.52%) for MEHHP. Quartile analysis revealed that participants in the highest serum folate quartile exhibited significantly lower levels of MEHP, MEOHP, MECPP, and MEHHP compared to those in the lowest quartile (all p for trend <0.01). Furthermore, restricted cubic spline analyses and generalized additive models demonstrated significant inverse linear relationships between serum folate concentrations and MEHP, MEOHP, and MEHHP levels. No significant associations were observed between red blood cell folate concentrations and phthalate metabolites.ConclusionThese findings indicate that folate is associated with reduced concentrations of phthalate metabolites in urine, which may hold significant relevance for the utilization of folate as a strategy to reduce the accumulation of phthalate burden.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1542952/fullphthalatesfolic acidexposureNHANESbiomarkers
spellingShingle Xiaojing Huang
Xiaojing Huang
Huan Zhang
Huan Zhang
Yaoyu Luo
Chenhui Yang
Jue Huang
Jue Huang
Ting Zhou
Ting Zhou
Junfeng Qi
Junlin Li
Shuzhen Zhu
Yaqin Zhang
Ling Zhang
Ling Zhang
Xiaojie Sun
Xiaojie Sun
Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study
Frontiers in Nutrition
phthalates
folic acid
exposure
NHANES
biomarkers
title Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study
title_full Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study
title_fullStr Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study
title_full_unstemmed Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study
title_short Association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US adults: evidence from a large population-based study
title_sort association between serum and red blood cell folate concentrations and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in us adults evidence from a large population based study
topic phthalates
folic acid
exposure
NHANES
biomarkers
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1542952/full
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