Associations of endocrine disrupting chemicals with renal function in older individuals

Background

Since the twentieth century, endocrine-disrupting substances (EDCs) such as phthalates and organophosphates have been utilised in various goods. The long-term usage of these products may have negative effects on people's health. Most EDCs are metabolized through kidneys, but there are few research investigating renal damage from exposure to EDCs in the elderly. This study aims to examine the effects of EDCs exposure on renal function in the elderly population.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 200 elder from a community in northeast China were enrolled. All subjects were investigated by questionnaire, physical examination, and biological sample collection. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was used to classify renal function group. Lasso regression was used to screen out the EDCs related to renal function. After covariate adjustment, binary logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between decreased renal function and EDCs. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression was used to assess the association of combined-EDCs with decreased renal function, subgroup analyses were performed to identify potentially sensitive populations to the effects of EDCs on decreased renal function.

Results

Binary logistic regression showed that 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (BHT-COOH), Mono(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP), and Methyl paraben (MeP) were negatively associated with decreased renal function, with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals of 0.591 (0.366, 0.954), 0.990 (0.981, 0.999) and 0.997 (0.995, 0.999), respectively. WQS regression found DPP (Weights = 22.5%) to have the greatest effect on decreased renal function in the elderly. Moreover, significant potential interactions were observed among MEHP&MOcP with hypertension on decreased renal function (P_interaction = 0.014), as well as BPS and MEHP&MocP with Overweight/obesity on decreased renal function (P_interaction = 0.032, 0.024).

Conclusions

BHT-COOH, MCPP, and MeP were negatively associated with decreased renal function in the elderly. Elders with hypertension and who are overweight /obesity may be more sensitive to EDCs.