Unraveling the contribution of dietary intake to human phthalate internal exposure

Human exposure to phthalates (PAEs) occurs primarily through diet, but the contribution of dietary exposure to the total internal exposure of PAEs has not been well studied. This work investigated the relationship between dietary exposure and human internal exposure to PAEs. Daily food samples were determined to evaluate the health risk of dietary exposure, and phthalate metabolites (mPAEs) were determined from urine samples of 360 volunteers of Guangzhou to assess their internal exposure. The total mPAEs concentration in the urine samples ranged from 8.43 to 1872 ng/mL, with mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), and mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP) being the most predominant mPAEs. The concentration of PAEs in food ranged from n.d-40200 μg/kg, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were the most prevalent. PAE exposure was significantly associated with age, and children exhibited the highest concentration of mPAEs. Using Monte Carlo simulation to estimate PAE exposure's health risk eliminated uncertainties caused by single-point sampling and provided more reliable statistical results. The hazard quotient (HQ) was used to evaluate PAE exposure health risks. The results showed that 37% of the volunteers had HQ levels higher than 1 based on urinary mPAE concentrations, while 24% of the volunteers had HQ levels greater than 1 because of dietary exposure to PAEs. Dietary intake was the predominant exposure route for PAEs, and accounted for approximately 65% (24% out of 37%) of the cases where HQ levels exceeded 1. The work revealed the correlation between dietary external and internal exposure to PAEs, and further studies are needed to better understand the implications.