Urinary parabens, advanced glycation end products and blood pressure in children: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Background: Paraben exposure and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have both been linked to cardiovascular conditions, including hypertension. However, the association between parabens and AGEs has not been studied yet. Parabens could affect blood pressure (BP) via AGEs. Methods: In this longitudinal study, urinary paraben concentrations [methyl (MeP), ethyl (EtP), propyl (PrP), butyl (BuP)] were measured in preschool children from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. BP and AGEs, assessed with skin-autofluorescence (SAF) zscores, were measured at baseline (4 years) and six years later in 83 children (166 observations). First, generalized linear mixed models and quantile g-computation were applied to assess associations and mixture effects of parabens with AGEs and with BP. Next, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to disentangle timespecific effects in these associations and explore the role of AGEs as mediators in the relationship between parabens and BP. Results: We observed an inverse association between the paraben mixture and AGEs ((3 = -0.30 per quantile increase; 95 % CI: -0.55, -0.042), driven by PrP with the strongest negative weight. Single-pollutant models confirmed this association for PrP ((3 = -0.15; 95 % CI: -2.51, -0.049). SEM revealed direct effects of parabens on systolic blood pressure at 4 years (est.std. = 0.50; 95 % Boot CI: 0.10, 0.82). AGEs mediated an inverse indirect effect of parabens on DBP at 10 years ((3 = -0.21; 95 % Boot CI: -0.41, -0.05). Conclusions: Early-life paraben exposure, particularly PrP, is associated with AGEs and blood pressure, warranting further investigation into long-term consequences.