The Association of Socio-Demographic Status, Lifestyle Factors and Dietary Patterns with Total Urinary Phthalates in Australian Men

OBJECTIVE To investigate the associations between socio-demographic status, lifestyle factors, dietary patterns and urinary total phthalate concentration in a cohort of South Australian men. METHOD We randomly selected 1527 males aged 39 to 84 from wave two of the Men Androgen Inflammation Lifestyle Environment and Stress (MAILES) study. Total phthalate concentration was examined in fasting morning urine samples. Socio-demographic and lifestyle factors were assessed by questionnaire. Food intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary patterns were constructed using factor analysis. RESULTS Total phthalates were detected in 99.6% of the urine samples. The overall geometric mean (95% CI) of total phthalate concentration was 112.4 (107.5-117.5) ng/mL. The least square geometric means (LSGMs) of total phthalate concentration were significantly higher among people who were obese (127.8 ng/mL), consuming less than two serves fruit per day (125.7 ng/mL) and drinking more than one can (375mL) of carbonated soft drink per day (131.9 ng/mL). Two dietary patterns were identified: a prudent dietary pattern and a western dietary pattern. Both the western dietary pattern (p = 0.002) and multiple lifestyle risk factors including smoking, obesity, insufficient physical activity and the highest quartile of the western dietary pattern (p<0.001), were positively associated with total phthalate levels. There was no significant relationship between total phthalate concentration and socio-demographic status. CONCLUSION Phthalate exposure is ubiquitous and positively associated with lifestyle risk factors in urban dwelling Australian men.