| Abstract |
Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are used in industry as plasticizers or additives in everyday products and they have been considered as endocrine disrupting chemicals. Humans are multiply exposed to these compounds which enter the human body via ingestion, inhalation and dermal absorption. Parent compounds or their metabolites are detected in biological matrices and their presence is often associated with adverse health impacts including respiratory problems, reproductive effects in males and females and neurophycological disorders. Maternal exposure during pregnancy has been linked with neonatal exposure, irreversible health effects in newborns, preterm birth, genital malformations and organs disinfunction (kidneys, liver). The application of strict regulation on the use of BPA has resulted in the replacement of BPA by bisphenol analogues including bisphenols F and S (BPF, BPS). The aim of this thesis is to estimate maternal and infant exposure to phthalate metabolites (mEP, miBP, mnBP, mBzP, mEHP, mEHHP, mEOHP), BPA and its analogues BPF and BPS by biomonitoring in amniotic fluid, urine and hair samples from pregnant women during the first trimester of gestation. One hudrend women who underwent amniocentesis at the maternity hospital “MITERA” under Dr. Stavros Sifakis were recruited in the study. Except for the biological samples that were collected, participants answered questionnaires regarding the use of plastic products and cosmetics, dietary habits, health effects and pregnancy problems. After birth, information about infants’ somatometric characteristics (head circumference, birth weight and height) and health effects was collected. Through statistical analysis, the concentrations of the compounds in the biological matrices were associated with lifestyle, dietary habits, health impacts and developmental factors for newborns.
The analytical protocols that were followed were common for all compounds and different per biological matrix, they were found in literature although they were modified and validated for the present study. Prior to sample preparation (amniotic fluid and urine), the compounds were deconjugated with enzymatic hydrolysis. Amniotic fluid was treated with liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate and for urine the liquid-liquid extraction was followed by solid-phase extraction as a clean-up process. The compounds were extracted from hair samples using methanol and ultrasound. The quantification and quafication of the analytes were performed with liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry system (LC-APCI-MS). This is the first study that investigated the presence of seven phthalate metabolites in one hudrend human hair samples indicating that they are stored in human organism. It is the first time that BPA analogues are determined in amniotic fluid and hair samples and this study is the most recent that examined phthalates in amniotic fluid, since 1980-1996. The major results from statistical analysis include the correlation among phthalate metabolites for all biological matrices indicating their common sources of exposure, higher levels of BPS in hair were associated with increased body mass index and body weight in pregnant women, the frequent use of specific personal care products was associated with higher levels of several compounds in all matrices, the concentration of mEHP in hair was associated with the frequent use of plastic containers and lower infants’ birth weight. The study population was exposed to 145.2 κg/L phthalates (median) which corresponds to hazard index 10% and this exposure follows the declining trend that has been observed since 1988. Finally, it is obvious from biomonitoring results that there is a trend for replacement of DnBP by DiBP and that BPA was the main bisphenol in samples compared to its analogues BPF and BPS.
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