Exposure profiles to Phthalates and their impacts on thyroid hormones in pregnant women | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Exposure profiles to Phthalates and their impacts on thyroid hormones in pregnant women Abderrezak Khelfi, Lydia Zemmam, Chourouk Tebib, Kahina Aksas, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6406051/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Purpose This research aims to assess the exposure of pregnant women to Phthalates and to investigate the relationship between plasma levels of thyroid hormones and urinary concentrations of Phthalates. It also explores potential exposure sources and examines the links between surrounding products and exposure profiles in these women. Method This was a descriptive, transversal, and multicentre study carried out on a population of 384 pregnant women living in Algiers. Thyroid hormones (TSH, FT3, and FT4,) were measured by electrochemiluminescence. Phthalates (MEP, MEHP, and MnBP) were detected and assessed by LC-MS/MS. Results Phthalates were detected in most urine samples (97.4%, 95.58%, and 92.97% for MEP, MEHP, and MnBP, respectively). Mean concentrations of MEP, MEHP, and MnBP were 83.496 ± 89.133, 37.915 ± 41.082 and 44.635 ± 48.169 µg/g creatinine, respectively. Significant positive associations were identified between urinary concentrations of MnBP and FT3 levels (β = 0.002; P = 0.018). Significant associations were found between the consumption of bagged milk and all three Phthalate metabolites. High urinary concentrations of MEP and MEHP were found in women living industrial factories, while elevated urinary concentrations of MnBP were found in women residing in urban areas. Additionally, this study revealed that women who paid attention to the ingredients in their care products have lower urinary concentrations of MnBP. Conclusion This study highlights the harmful effect of Phthalates on thyroid hormone levels during pregnancy. These findings lead us to investigate the potential effects of these hormonal changes on pregnant women, and to put proper regulations on the potential sources of exposure. Phthalates thyroid hormones sources of exposure pregnant women exposure profiles Full Text Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterials.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6406051","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":450482565,"identity":"071cc562-afbb-43cb-ab46-49669c7c2a57","order_by":0,"name":"Abderrezak 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