Levels of four OPEms (list below) in one sample of 340 mothers’ urine at 17 weeks pregnancy were compared to EF (Executive Function = attention span, vocabulary, assertiveness) of offspring 6 – 36 months. The main sources of these OPEms may not be FRs. Attempts were made to correlate out cofactors such as fish consumption or income. BBOEP and BDCIPP were above LOD in less than half of the urine samples. DnBP was generally associated with worse EF. DPhP, BBOEP and BDCIPP did not show consistent associations. These results are partly consistent with nine other identified studies looking at OPEms and neurodevelopment. The authors conclude that data is largely inadequate.
OPEms analysed: DPhP = Diphenyl-phosphate, DnBP = di-n-butyl-phosphate, BBOEP = bis(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate, BDCIPP = bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate.
“Prenatal organophosphate ester exposure and executive function in Norwegian preschoolers”, A. Hall et al., Environ Epidemiol. 2023 Jun 5;7(3):e251, https://doi.org/10.1097/ee9.0000000000000251