Several Typical Environmental Endocribe Disruptors In University Students In South China:Occurrence,Exposure,and Health Risk Assessment

The potential adverse effects of environmental endocrine disruptors(EEDs)on human health have been confirmed by a large number of studies,and it's attracting more and more attention.Chinese university students not only have a large number and unique lifestyle,but also the mainstay of social construction and human reproduction,so investigating their exposure levels to EEDs is significative.In this study,levels of several EEDs,including phthalate metabolites,parabens,bisphenol A(BPA)and its analogues,triclosan(TCS),and benzophenone-3,were determined in 169 urine samples collected from ten campuses of eight universities distributed in different districts of Guangzhou,South China.In addition to further understand the potential sources of EEDs in their daily lives,a survey on lifestyle of the university students was conducted.Daily exposure doses of target EEDs and their potential sources for the students were also investigated based on the urinary concentrations and survey results.Our results indicated that 9 phthalate metabolites,3 parabens,and BPA were ubiquitous(detection frequency > 60%)in the urine of university students.The concentrations of total phthalates(median: 99.4 ?g L-1)were orders of magnitude higher than those of total parabens(7.30 ?g L-1)and of other environmental phenols(0.40 ?g L-1).Significantly higher concentrations of phthalates,parabens,and TCS were found in female versus the male students,partly due to the higher usage of personal care products(PCPs)by female students(p < 0.05).The estimated daily intakes(EDIs)of phthalates,parabens,BPA,and TCS were 0.46-1.35,3.29-10.3,0.007,and 0.67 ?g/kg-bw/day,respectively.The EDIs of phthalates and BPA were much lower than those suggested by the European Food Safety guidelines(10,50,and 50?g/kg-bw/day for dibutyl phthalate,diethylhexyl phthalate,and BPA,respectively).Our results indicated that university students were widely exposed to EEDs,but at relatively low doses.Personal care products usage was the main reason for differences in levels of phthalates(especially diethyl phthalate)and parabens between male and female students in South China universities.