Associations Between Phthalate Metabolite Concentrations in Follicular Fluid and Reproductive Outcomes Among Women Undergoing Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Treatment

Overview

Journal Environ Health Perspect

Date 2023 Dec 27

PMID 38150316

Authors

Wen Yao

Chong Liu

Dan-Yu Qin

Xiao-Qiong Yuan

Qing-Yun Yao

Ni-Jie Li

Yong Huang

Wen-Tao Rao

Yu-Ying Li

Yan-Ling Deng

Qiang Zeng

Yu-Feng Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Phthalates have been reported to impair fertility in various studies. However, evidence exploring the associations between phthalate metabolites in follicular fluid (FF) and reproductive outcomes is lacking.

Objectives: To investigate the associations between phthalate metabolite concentrations in FF and fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) outcomes among women recruited from a fertility clinic.

Methods: We included 641 women undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment from December 2018 to January 2020. The levels of eight phthalate metabolites, including monoethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), mono--butyl phthalate (MBP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), and mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), were quantified in FF collected on the oocyte retrieval day. Associations between quartiles of individual phthalate metabolite concentrations and nine IVF/ICSI outcomes, including oocyte yield, mature oocyte number, two distinct pronuclei (2PN) zygote number, fertilization rate, blastocyst formation rate, implantation, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth, were estimated with generalized linear models. The effects of phthalate mixtures on IVF/ICSI outcomes were assessed using Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models.

Results: After adjusting for relevant confounders, elevated quartiles of MBzP, MEHHP, and MEHP in FF were inversely associated with the numbers of retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes, and 2PN zygotes (all for trends ). In comparison with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of molar sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites () was associated with a reduction of 9.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): , ] and 10.3% (95% CI: , ) in yielded oocyte and mature oocyte numbers, respectively. Furthermore, the BKMR models revealed inverse associations between phthalate mixtures and the numbers of retrieved oocytes and mature oocytes. We generally found null results for implantation, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth.

Discussion: Certain phthalate metabolites in FF are inversely associated with the numbers of retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes, and 2PN zygotes among women undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11998.

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