Association between urinary antibiotic exposure and blood pressure parameters in reproductive-age men: a biomonitoring-based cross-sectional study in China

Background: Although biomonitoring methods have adequately documented antibiotic exposure in the general population, epidemiological data on the relationship between urinary antibiotic load and blood pressure (BP) parameters in reproductive-age men are still lacking. Current research aims to investigate the relationships between urinary antibiotic exposure and BP parameters among men of reproductive age. Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in Hefei, China, and a total of 967 eligible healthy Chinese men aged between 20 and 40 years were enrolled. Forty-two urine antibiotic measurements (including two metabolites) were measured by high-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured using an Omron HBP-1300 upper-arm electronic BP monitor. Pulse pressure (PP) was calculated by subtracting DBP from SBP. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was calculated using the formula: DBP + 1/3(SBP − DBP). Generalized linear models were used to explore the relationships between urinary antibiotic exposure and BP parameters. These associations were further classified according to the participants’ age and body mass index (BMI). Meanwhile, the quantile-based g-computation (QGComp) method was applied to assess the joint effects of antibiotic mixtures on BP parameters. Results: A proportion of 98.9% of the tested individuals were positive for the selected antibiotics, mainly doxycycline (81.7%), erythromycin (74.9%), ciprofloxacin (66.8%), and florfenicol (65.1%). We found that urinary doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and florfenicol exposure was positively correlated with SBP, DBP, PP, and MAP. Urinary antibiotic mixtures were positively correlated with SBP, DBP, PP, and MAP, with ciprofloxacin making the greatest positive contribution. Stratified analyses indicated that the direct effect of doxycycline and ciprofloxacin on BP parameters appeared to be stronger in men with a BMI less than 24 kg/m2. Conclusions: The current study found that individual and mixed urinary antibiotic exposures were positively associated with BP parameters.