PMID- 37018009 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20230407 LR - 20230411 IS - 1552-9924 (Electronic) IS - 0091-6765 (Print) IS - 0091-6765 (Linking) VI - 131 IP - 4 DP - 2023 Apr TI - Urinary Phthalate Metabolites and Slow Walking Speed in the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II Study. PG - 47005 LID - 10.1289/EHP10549 [doi] LID - 047005 AB - BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that phthalate exposure may contribute to neurocognitive and neurobehavioral disorders and decreased muscle strength and bone mass, all of which may be associated with reduced physical performance. Walking speed is a reliable assessment tool for measuring physical performance in adults age 60 y and older. OBJECTIVE: We investigated associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and slowness of walking speed in community-dwelling adults ages 60-98 y. METHODS: We analyzed 1,190 older adults [range, 60-98 y of age; mean +/- standard deviation (SD) , 74.81 +/- 5.99] from the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II study and measured repeatedly up to three times between 2012 and 2014. Phthalate exposure was estimated using the following phthalate metabolites in urine samples: mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), and mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP). Slowness was defined as a walking speed of < 1.0 meter/second. We used logistic and linear regression models to evaluate the association between each urinary phthalate metabolite and slowness or walking-speed change. We also used Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to examine overall mixture effects on walking speed. RESULTS: At enrollment, MBzP levels were associated with an increased odds of slowness [odds ratio (OR) per doubling increase: 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.30; OR for the highest vs. lowest quartile: 2.20 (95% CI: 1.12, 4.35) with p-trend across quartiles = 0.031]. In longitudinal analyses, MEHHP levels showed an increased risk of slowness [OR per doubling increase: 1.15 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.29), OR for the highest vs. lowest quartile: 1.47 (95% CI: 1.04, 2.06), p - trend = 0.035]; whereas those with higher MnBP showed a reduced risk of slowness [OR per doubling increase: 0.84 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.96), OR in the highest (vs. lowest) quartile: 0.64 (95% CI: 0.47, 0.87), p - trend = 0.006]. For linear regression models, MBzP quartiles were associated with slower walking speed (p - trend = 0.048) at enrollment, whereas MEHHP quartiles were associated with slower walking speed, and MnBP quartiles were associated with faster walking speed in longitudinal analysis (p - trend = 0.026 and < 0.001, respectively). Further, the BKMR analysis revealed negative overall trends between the phthalate metabolite mixtures and walking speed and DEHP group (MEHHP, MEOHP, and MECPP) had the main effect of the overall mixture. DISCUSSION: Urinary concentrations of prevalent phthalates exhibited significant associations with slow walking speed in adults ages 60-98 y. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10549. FAU - Yoon, Jeonggyo AU - Yoon J AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2717-8370 AD - Department of Community, Environment and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. AD - Department of Preventive Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. FAU - Garcia-Esquinas, Esther AU - Garcia-Esquinas E AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-8688-5174 AD - Department of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Center for Epidemiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain. AD - Ciber of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain. FAU - Kim, Junghoon AU - Kim J AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-4802-010X AD - Department of Sports Medicine, Graduate School of Sports Convergence, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan, Korea. FAU - Kwak, Jung Hyun AU - Kwak JH AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-5452-7965 AD - Department of Food and Nutrition, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon-do, Korea. FAU - Kim, Hongsoo AU - Kim H AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-5539-7653 AD - Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Health; Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. AD - Institute of Health & Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. AD - Institute of Aging, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. FAU - Kim, Sungroul AU - Kim S AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8726-9288 AD - Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Korea. AD - Department of ICT Environmental Health System, Graduate School, Soonchunhyang University (BK21Four), Asan, Korea. FAU - Kim, Kyoung-Nam AU - Kim KN AD - Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea. FAU - Hong, Yun-Chul AU - Hong YC AD - Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. FAU - Choi, Yoon-Hyeong AU - Choi YH AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-3228-8179 AD - Department of Preventive Medicine, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. AD - School of Health and Environmental Science, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20230405 PL - United States TA - Environ Health Perspect JT - Environmental health perspectives JID - 0330411 RN - 6O7F7IX66E (phthalic acid) RN - 0 (Environmental Pollutants) RN - 27NM8BNV1K (mono-benzyl phthalate) RN - ZI46LWZ45G (monobutyl phthalate) RN - 0 (Phthalic Acids) RN - C42K0PH13C (Diethylhexyl Phthalate) SB - IM MH - Humans MH - Aged MH - Middle Aged MH - Aged, 80 and over MH - Environmental Exposure/adverse effects MH - *Environmental Pollutants/metabolism MH - Bayes Theorem MH - Walking Speed MH - *Phthalic Acids/urine MH - Republic of Korea MH - *Diethylhexyl Phthalate PMC - PMC10075311 EDAT- 2023/04/06 06:00 MHDA- 2023/04/07 06:42 PMCR- 2023/04/05 CRDT- 2023/04/05 11:44 PHST- 2023/04/07 06:42 [medline] PHST- 2023/04/05 11:44 [entrez] PHST- 2023/04/06 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2023/04/05 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - EHP10549 [pii] AID - 10.1289/EHP10549 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Apr;131(4):47005. doi: 10.1289/EHP10549. Epub 2023 Apr 5.