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bioRxiv · 10.1101/175513

Toward Capturing the Exposome: Exposure Biomarker Variability and Co-Exposure Patterns in the Shared Environment

Chung, M. K.·Kannan, K.·Louis, G. M. B.·Patel, C. J.
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Abstract

BACKGROUNDAlong with time, variation in the exposome is dependent on the location and sex of study participants. One specific factor that may influence exposure co-variations is a shared household environment.\n\nOBJECTIVESTo examine the influence of shared household and partners sex in relation to the variation in 128 endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) exposures among couples.\n\nMETHODSIn a cohort comprising 501 couples trying for pregnancy, we measured 128 (13 chemical classes) persistent and non-persistent EDCs and estimated 1) sex-specific differences; 2) variance explained by shared household; and 3) Spearmans rank correlation coefficients (rs) for females, males, and couples exposures.\n\nRESULTSSex was correlated with 8 EDCs including polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (p < 0.05). Shared household explained 43% and 41% of the total variance for PFASs and blood metals, respectively, but less than 20% for the remaining 11 EDC classes. Co-exposure patterns of the exposome were similar between females and males, with within-class rs higher for persistent and lower for non-persistent chemicals. Median rss of polybrominated compounds and urine metalloids were 0.45 and 0.09, respectively, for females (0.41 and 0.08 for males), whereas lower rss for these 2 classes were found for couples (0.21 and 0.04).\n\nCONCLUSIONSOverall, sex did not significantly affect EDC levels in couples. Individual, rather than shared environment, could be a major factor influencing the co-variation of 128 markers of the exposome. Correlations between exposures are lower in couples than in individual partners and have important analytical and sampling implications for epidemiological study.

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Chung, M. K., Kannan, K., Louis, G. M. B., Patel, C. J.. 2017-08-18. Toward Capturing the Exposome: Exposure Biomarker Variability and Co-Exposure Patterns in the Shared Environment. https://doi.org/10.1101/175513

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