Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

  • Volume 35
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  • Pages.53.1-53.15
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  • 2023
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  • 1225-3618(pISSN)
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  • 2052-4374(eISSN)
The Korean Society of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (대한직업환경의학회)
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Relationship between the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage and urine phthalate metabolites: the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 3

  • Jisoo Kang (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Gumi Hospital) ;
  • Seong-yong Cho (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Gumi Hospital) ;
  • Seongyong Yoon (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Gumi Hospital)
  • Received : 2023.10.18
  • Accepted : 2023.12.20
  • Published : 2023.12.31
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Abstract

Background: Plastics are high-molecular-weight materials composed of long carbon chains. They are prevalent in daily life, present in various items such as food containers and microwavable packaging. Phthalates, an additive used to enhance their flexibility, are endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We utilized the data from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 3, representing the general South Korean population, to investigate the relationship between the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage and phthalate exposure. Methods: We assessed 3,333 adult participants (aged ≥ 19 years) including 1,526 men and 1,807 women, using data from KoNEHS cycle 3. Using the 75th percentile concentration, urine phthalate metabolites were categorized into high and low-concentration groups. χ2 test was conducted to analyze variations in the distribution of each variable, considering sociodemographic factors, health-related factors, food intake, the use of plastics, and the concentration of urine phthalate metabolites as the variables. To calculate odds ratios (ORs) for the high-concentration group of urine phthalate metabolites based on the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage, logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: In men, the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage had significantly higher adjusted ORs compared to those using the others. The adjusted ORs were calculated as follows: mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) had an OR of 1.35 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.72), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) had an OR of 1.48 (95% CI: 1.16-1.88), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP) had an OR of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.04-1.66), ∑di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) had an OR of 1.37 (95% CI: 1.08-1.74) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) had an OR of 1.44 (95% CI: 1.13-1.84). Conclusion: The concentrations of urine phthalate metabolites (MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP, ∑DEHP, and MnBP) were significantly higher in men who used plastics in refrigerator food storage compared to those using the others.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study used the Korean National Environmental Health Survey Cycle 3 (2015~2017), made by National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER-2017-01-01-001). We appreciate National Institute of Environmental Research making available the raw data of Korean National Environmental Health Survey.

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