Work

Joint association of organophosphate esters exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus history with glycometabolism in the early postnatal period

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Organophosphate esters (OPEs), a class of synthetic flame retardants, have been suggested to alter glucose metabolism. However, their effects among women in early postnatal period have not yet been explored, let alone its joint association with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) history. METHODS: Five urinary OPE metabolites from 454 women were determined at 42 days postpartum, of which 354 women and 228 women had fasting plasma glucose (FPG) measured at 42 days and 1 year postpartum, respectively. The levels of OPE metabolites were measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and natural log (ln)-transformed, and linear regression was used to assess the association between OPEs metabolites concentration and blood glucose indicators. The joint association of it with a GDM history was also assessed. RESULTS: In the fully adjusted model, exposure to DoCP was positively associated with FPG at 42 days postpartum (β: 0.12, 95 % CI: 0.05, 0.20). And a joint association was observed, compared with women with low level of DoCP and DBzP and without a history of GDM, women had higher level of DoCP and DBzP and a history of GDM had the highest level of FPG at 42 days postpartum (β=0.20, 95 %CI: 0.01, 0.39 for DoCP; β=0.24, 95 %CI: 0.06, 0.42 for DBzP). No association was found between OPEs exposure at 42 days postpartum and FPG at 1 year postpartum. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that exposure to OPEs could disturb short-term postpartum glucose metabolism, especially among women who had a GDM history.

Source: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.119612