Environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals in urine and follicular fluid: Association with steroid hormones and risk of polycystic ovarian syndrome

Organophosphate esters (OPEs), bisphenols, benzophenones, and parabens are acknowledged as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and used as flame retardants, plasticizers, and personal care products, but their associations with steroid hormone levels in females diagnosed of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) remain unclear. In this study, urinary and follicular fluid (FF) concentrations of 9 metabolites of OPEs (mOPEs), 7 bisphenols, 3 benzophenones, and 4 parabens were investigated in childbearing-age females with and without PCOS in China ( n = 72). Bis(2-butoxyethyl) 2-hydroxyethyl phosphate (BBOEHEP) had higher FF concentrations in females with PCOS than without PCOS (4.22 and 0.26 ng/mL, p < 0.01). FF EDCs were positively associated with cortisol ( p < 0.01). The major contribution came from mOPEs. Specifically, BBOEHEP alone accounted for 87.4% of this contribution. FF BBOEHEP, ΣmOPEs, bisphenol A, and Σbisphenols had positive associations with PCOS risk ( OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.56, 4.25; OR = 4.93, 95% CI: 2.10, 11.6; OR = 14.1, 95% CI: 3.84, 51.6; OR = 15.0, 95% CI: 3.98, 56.7; p < 0.01). This study suggested FF is a better biomonitoring target for reproductive effects in ovary. The association between EDCs and steroid hormones is also worth further study for understanding their crucial impacts in PCOS females.