Follicular Fluid And Urinary Concentrations Of Phthalate Metabolites Among Infertile Women And Associations With In Vitro Fertilization Parameters

Phthalates are a class of man-made industrial chemicals which have been ubiquitously applied to manufacture polyvinyl chloride products. The general population has been pervasively exposed to these compounds. Detectable levels of phthalates and their metabolites have been found in a wide range of biological fluids including human urine,serum, semen, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and breast milk. Evidence from toxicological studies has demonstrated that phthalates can lead to reduced fertility through effects on folliculogenesis, steroidogenesis,oocyte maturation and embryonic development,but human data are limited.Concentrations of eight phthalate metabolites in 110 follicular fluid(FF) and urine samples collected from 112 women attending an infertility clinic in Wuhan, China, between July 2014 and August 2014 were quantified using SPE-HPLC-MS/MS. Associations between metabolite concentrations and in vitro fertilization(IVF) parameters were evaluated with multivariable models.Six metabolites were detected in >72.73% of the FF samples. MEHP and MBP were the dominant metabolites with a median level of 2.80 and 2.05 ng/m L, respectively. No associations were obsevered between FF metabolite concentrations and IVF parameters.Selected urinary phthalates were associated with interested outcomes. Given the prevalence of phthalates exposure, further work is needed to elucidate the potential hazard on female reproduction.