5th International and 24th National Conference on

5th International and 24th National

Conference on Environmental Health

December 14-16, 2021

Kashan, Iran

1

The association of personal care products uses with the urinary

concentration of parabens in Iranian Men

Yaghoub Hajizadeh1, Ghasem Kiani feizabadi2,3*, Awat Feizi4, Hamidreza Nasehinia2, Saeed

Mohammadi5, Mohammadreza Montazeri2, Farjad Batebi2

1 Environment Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Isfahan

University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Email: [email protected],

2 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran

3 Student Research Committee, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Email:

[email protected]

4 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, and Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan

University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Email: [email protected]

5 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,

Iran. * Corresponding Author: Ghasem Kiani Feizabadi, Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract

Parabens are commonly used as preservatives in various personal care products (PCPs)

mainly due to their antimicrobials properties. However, new evidences have shown that higher

exposure to parabens could result in endocrine disruption and somehow increase malignancies. In

this study, the concentrations of methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP), and

butylparaben (BP) in urine samples from 125 men were measured and their relationship with the

use of 13 distinct PCPs was examined. Detection frequency of parabens varied in the range of 83-

98%. The median concentrations were found 60.12, 8.40, 9.74 and 7.19μg/L for MP, EP, PP, and

BP, respectively. The urinary concentrations of MP and PP were found to be significantly (p<0.05)

differ among low, medium, and high product users with the following order: high users> medium

users> low users. Furthermore, the urinary concentration of parabens was found to be dependent on

the types of products used. According to the results of MANCOVA, Men who reported the use of

sunscreen, lotions and deodorant had significantly higher urinary concentrations of MP (76-185%).

body wash user had higher levels of urinary MP and PP (112-160%). The use of mouthwash,

toothpaste and perfume / cologne has also increased urinary PP concentration (73-412%) higher

than no-users. The use of hand washing products has remarkably increased the urinary levels of

parabens (158-520%). According to the results, a strong relationship was observed between the use

of PCPs and the urinary levels of parabens among Iranian men. These findings could serve as a

basis for more extensive studies to investigate the extent of exposure to parabens and to determine

appropriate strategies for reducing paraben exposure.

Keywords: Biomonitoring, Urinary Parabens, Exposure, Personal Care Products, Men

mailto:[email protected]







Kashan, Iran

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1- Introduction

Parabens are widely used in PCP industries to prevent the growth of microorganisms and

increase the shelf life of the products. Methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP),

and butylparaben (BP) are among the most important antibacterial preservatives used in cosmetics

and personal care products, especially in cream-based products (1-3). Recently, several studies from

different countries have reported widespread human exposure to parabens which has been shown to

be linked with adverse health effects (4-7). Some epidemiologic studies have clearly shown that the

exposure to parabens is associated with adverse health effects including interfere with estrogen

(estrogenic activity), endocrine disruption (8), decrease of sperm quality (9), through damage to

sperm DNA and morphology (10, 11). It has been shown that, humans are mainly exposed to

parabens via their skin, especially by the use of cosmetics and personal care products, however, it

can also be occurred through inhalation and intake of foodstuffs, drinks, and medications (3, 12,

13). The total daily intake of parabens through PCP, food and medication sources has been reported

1.26 mg /kg bw/day, of which PCPs accounted for 0.833 mg/kg bw/day (3). Although parabens are

rapidly adsorbed, but due to their short biological half-life in human body, the main part of these

substances or their metabolites is released into the urine in conjugated form within the first 24

hours. Accordingly, the urinary levels of the parabens are known as an indicative of the exposure

levels in biomonitoring studies (4-6, 14). To the best of our knowledge, there is a little information

on the exposure of Iranian population, especially men, with parabens. Thus, in the present study, for

the first time, we examined the urinary concentration of four common parabens including MP, EP,

PP and BP among Iranian men and evaluated their association with PCP use 24 hours before urine

sample collection.

2- Methods

2-1- Study Population

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 125 men aged 12-65 years who resided in

Isfahan province of Iran. The participants were selected among those who attended health centers in

different areas of Isfahan city via multistage random cluster sampling method. The demographics of

the participants and the related information on lifestyle and the factors which may influence the

exposure level to parabens were collected using well-structured face to face questionnaires by

trained health experts. The protocols of the present study were approved by the Ethics Committee of

Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The inclusion criteria for this study were: informed

consent, residing in the study area for more than 1 year, no history if long-term drug use and

chronic illness, as well as voluntarily completing all the information required in the survey

questionnaires before collection of the urine samples. Furthermore, the participants were excluded

from the study if their conditions did not meet the inclusion criteria, did not cooperate well to

complete questionaries or avoid to collect urine samples.

2-2- Socio-demographic information and PCPs using habits

The participants’ anthropometric information including weight, and height were recorded

based on standard protocols using calibrated instruments at the time of their first referral to a health




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3

center by a trained health expert. The participants were asked about the use of thirteen groups of

personal care products in the past 24 hours at the time urine sample collection. Accordingly, the

participants were assigned into the two groups of users and non-users depending on whether they

used distinct PCPs in the past 24 hours or not. The mentioned groups were compared about the

urinary concentrations of parabens considering each product they used. Afterwards, based on the

total number of PCPs used in the past 24 hours, the participants were categorized into the low users

(0-3), medium users (4-7), and high users (8-13). Furthermore, the frequency of use of each product

in these three categories was determined to identify the pattern of PCP use in subjected groups.

2-3- Preparation of Urines and Laboratory Experiments

To assess the levels of exposure to parabens, the urine samples were collected in polypropylene

containers and stored at -70 °C until analysis. Besides, 5ml of each sample was also used to

measure the creatinine levels in the urine samples using a Hitachi 704 auto-analyzer (Jeff method)

(15). The urinary methyl paraben (MP), ethyl paraben (EP), propyl paraben (PP) and butyl paraben

(BP) were extracted using liquid-liquid micro-extraction (DLLME) dispersion and measured by

GC/MS method as described in detail elsewhere (16-20), with some modifications. The device

calibration curves were drawn for parabens at the concentration of 0.01-1000ng/ml. Moreover, the

regression coefficient (R2) with high accuracy ( RSD%4.8 ) for MP, EP, PP, and BP was 0.994,

0.989, 0.992, and 0.999, respectively. The recovery (%) of the spiked samples was >89% for all

analytes. The limit of detection (LOD) for the parabens in this study was in the 0.014-0.046 Lg /

range based on a signal to noise ratio of 3. The Limit of Quantification (LOQ) was also in the

0.049-0.154 Lg / range based on a signal to noise ratio of 10.

2-4- Data Analysis

The statistical analyzes of the study was done using SPSS V. 19 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The

concentrations below LODs were substituted by LODs divided by 2 as described elsewhere (21-24).

Since the data was positively skewed, logarithmic conversion was used to normalize the data. To

adjust the dilution difference between the urine samples and set the scene for the comparison of the

results with other studies, the paraben concentrations were adjusted using creatinine. The

descriptive indices for the raw and adjusted data were reported as mean± standard deviation (SD)

and median (minimum-maximum) values. The relationship between the parabens and the

relationship between other numerical variables were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation

coefficient. The relationship between the PCPs use and concentrations of parabens was also studied

separately for each product through the comparison of the urinary paraben concentrations among

PCP users and non-users. The urinary concentrations of parabens among low users (0-3), medium

users (4-7) and high users (8-13) were compared based on the Multivariate analysis of covariance

(MANCOVA) when adjustment was done for potential confounding variables such as age, smoking

status, season, education, zone, income, job category, physical activity, body mass index. To

determine the pattern of product use, the frequency of the use of each PCP was calculated and

compared between the aforementioned three groups of product users. All the tests were two-tailed

and the p<0.05 was considered as statistically significance level.




Kashan, Iran

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3- Results

A total of 125 Iranian male adults participated in this cross-sectional study. The mean±SD of the

age and BMI of participants was 34.5±15.6 and 25.13±4.5, respectively. Based on the profession,

income and educational classifications, most of the participants were in self-employee group (64%),

middle income families group (67%) and high school diploma (26%) as presented in Table 1. Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of the Iranian men participants

Characteristics Subgroup N=125 Percent

Age <=19 35 28

20-34 29 23.2

35-49 33 26.4

>=50 28 22.4

BMI (kg/m2) ≤18.5 9 7.2

18.5-22.99 25 20

23-24.99 23 18.4

≥25 68 54.4 Education < High school diploma 37 29.6

High school diploma 52 41.6

>University graduate 36 28.8

Occupational class Homemakers 33 26.4

Outside workers 61 48.8

Students 31 24.8

Household income (US$/month) Low (< 299 ) 33 26.4

Moderate (299-999) 80 64

High (> 1000 ) 12 9.6

Smoking (Cigarette &Hookah) Current 25 20

Former 20 16 Never 80 64

Marriage status Married/divorced. 76 60.8

Single 49 39.2

Place of residence North 29 23.2

South 26 20.8

East 28 22.4

West 26 20.8

Center 16 12.8

Season(Time of sampling) Spring 31 24.8

Summer 29 23.3

Autumn 28 22.4

Winter 37 29.6 Physical Activity low 51 40.8

moderate 47 37.6

high 27 21.6

The detection frequency of MP, EP, PP, and BP in the tested urine samples was found 97.6,84,

87.2, and 83.2%, respectively (Table 2). Furthermore, the creatinine adjusted median concentration

of MP, EP, PP, and BP was 57.32 gg / , 8.19, 8.65, and 7.0 gg / , respectively. Based on the

results, a strong significant correlation was observed between urinary MP and PP (r=0.694).




Kashan, Iran

5

However, there was a moderate significant correlation between MP, PP, and BP (r=0.511-0.536),

and the correlations between the other parabens were weak and negligible (Data not shown).

Table 2: Concentrations of parabens in urine samples of Iranian men (n = 125)

As mentioned earlier, the use of 13 groups of common PCPs by Iranian male adults was examined

in this study. The hand washing (89.9%) and toothpaste products (74.4%), were found as the most

frequently used PCPs, however the use of mouthwash and softener products were less common

among the participants (5%) (Figure 1).Based on the total number of products used by each

participant, they were classified into three categories of low users (48.8%), medium users (41.6%)

and high users (9.6%) based on PCP use (Table 3). Our findings showed that the frequency of the

use of special PCPs varied among these three groups of the users. It was found that the majority of

men used hand washing and toothpaste products in all three categories, and the proportion of

participants who reported the use of these products increased from low users to medium to high

users. Moreover, the use of PCPs such as perfume, lotion, body wash, and deodorant was observed

to be increased considerably from the low users category to the high users category (Figure 1). The

concentration of urinary parabens was compared among these three groups of the users and

presented in Table 3 and Figure 1. According to the results of MANOVA, a significant difference

was detected between the urinary concentrations of MP and PP in different groups of users

(p<0.05). We found that the urinary concentrations of MP, PP, and EP in high users group were

significantly higher than the other two groups. These findings indicated that the mean concentration

of urinary MP in high users was more than 2.5 times higher than that obtained for medium and low

users. Additionally, the mean concentration of PP in urine samples of the high users (51.4 gg / )

was 2 and 3 times higher than the levels obtained for medium and low users. The mean

concentrations of EP and BP were found to be only slightly different between the three groups and

significant differences were not observed. Similar results were observed after adjusting the potential

confounding variables (data not shown).

Para

ben Concentration type LOD DR(%) Mean (SD) Min 25%P 50%P 75%P 95%P Max

MP

Unadjusted ( µg/L) 0.014 97.6 147.53±237 <LOD 23.53 60.12 143.1 553.3 1456.

Creatinine adjusted(µg/g) 145.57±196 <LOD 20.67 57.32 197.1 579.9 1030

EP

Unadjusted ( µg/L) 0.015 84 22.10±41.8 <LOD 1.78 8.40 23.06 118.2 246.9

Creatinine adjusted(µg/g) 21.42±36.7 <LOD 2.48 9.82 29.0 172.2 418.7

PP

Unadjusted ( µg/L) 0.016 87.2 22.74±33.7 <LOD 1.86 9.74 32.76 86.52 190.7


BP

Unadjusted ( µg/L) 0.046 83.2 14.93±20.7 <LOD 1.26 7.19 21.41 57.49 141.8





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Table 3 Comparing the concentration of urinary parabens (µg/g) among the three categories of PCP users (low users

(0-3), medium users (4-7), and high users (8-13))

Figure 1: Product Category Use by Low users (0–3 product categories), medium users (4-

7 product categories), and high users (8–13 product categories) within a 24h period

The relationship between urinary concentrations of the investigated parabens with the use of

individual PCP within 24 hours prior to urine sampling is summarized in Table 4. According to the

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Per

cen

tage

of

Use

rs

PCPs

24 Hour Product Category Use High

Medium

Low

Compounds Category N Mean ± SD Median(min-max) P

MP Low user 61 121.05±175.87 36.10(<LOD-887.9) 0.002

Moderate user 52 127.33±156.87 65.58(4.31-817.9)

High user 12 349.24±316.64 214.93(67.96-1030.3)

EP Low user 61 22.13±39.91 8.29(<LOD -189.22) 0.481

Moderate user 52 21.47±36.70 6.63(<LOD -196.39)

High user 12 17.54±15.44 13.05(<LOD-51.0)

PP Low user 61 16.17±23.68 3.21(<LOD -123.01) 0.003


High user 12 51.40±59.27 29.88(3.61– 218.01)

BP Low user 61 14.73±21.14 4.78(<LOD -105.01) 0.474


High user 12 19.69±25.95 9.50(0.30– 91.17)




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results of MANCOVA, after adjusting the effects of age, smoking status, season, education, zone,

income, job category, physical activity, body mass index, and educational level as the potential

confounding variables, the mean concentrations of subjected parabens urine samples obtained from

men who used body wash, hand washing, lotion, sunscreen, deodorant, perfume/cologne,

mouthwash and toothpaste products were significantly higher than the men that did not use these

products. The use of sunscreen products, lotions and deodorants were found to be significantly

associated with 185 %, 140 % and 76 % increase in the urinary concentrations of MP, respectively,

however the use of these products did not show significant associations with the urinary levels of

other parabens. Body wash users had MP and PP concentrations 112% and 160% higher than non-

users. According to the results, the mean concentration of PP was increased 412%, 73% and 90%,

with the use of mouthwash, perfume / cologne and toothpaste, respectively, but the use of these

products did not show such effect on urinary levels of the other parabens. The mean concentrations

of parabens in those who used hand washing were 158% -520% higher than those who not reported

the use of this product (Table 4).

Table 4: Mean differences in urinary parabens concentration (µg/g) according to personal care product use within 24 ahours among the Iranian men

Source of exposure User/

Nonuser N

MP EP PP BP

Mean± SE P* Mean± SE P* Mean± SE P* Mean± SE P*

Shampoo Nonusers 61 122.85±25.23

0.340 24.26±4.64

0.682 19.07±4.12

0.078 15.52±2.88

0.951 Users 64 167.22±24.61 18.70±4.52 26.85±4.02 17.04±2.81

Softener Nonusers 121 134.18±16.87

0.067 21.53±2.90

0.446 22.91±2.90

0.581 16.16±2.02

0.206 Users 4 490.13±98.96 27.30±17.02 27.30±17.02 20.44±11.83

body wash Nonusers 104 115.51±14.21

0.048 21.83±3.59

0.632 18.18±3.05

0.050 14.78±2.21

0.538 Users 21 244.89±46.86 19.37±8.77 47.21±7.44 23.80±5.39

Shaving cream Nonusers 120 140.09±17.68

0.164 20.70±3.25

0.539 21.0±2.77

0.059 15.56±2.0

0.724 Users 5 276.93±90.62 38.60±16.67 72.16±14.18 33.93±10.24

Bar soap Nonusers 73 143.92±27.43

0.203 22.81±4.22

0.628 24.53±3.76

0.276 16.16±2.62

0.935 Users 52 146.74±23.06 19.46±5.02 20.98±4.47 16.50±3.11

Hand washing Nonusers 13 25.72±53.59

0.005 8.28±9.96

0.821 9.09±8.86

0.013 6.72±6.16

0.019 Users 112 159.48±18.03 22.94±3.35 24.67±2.98 17.41±2.07

Toothpaste Nonusers 32 143±87±20.53

0.827 22.21±6.58

0.562 13.76±5.78

0.042 13.16±4.07

0.090 Users 93 150.49±35.94 21.15±3.76 26.25±3.30 17.37±2.32

Mouthwash Nonusers 121 137.59±17.34

0.078 20.46±3.22

0.094 20.36±2.58

0.027 15.58±1.99

0.129 Users 4 386.96±101.53 50.48±18.86 104.41±15.12 37.99±11.63

Sunscreen Nonusers 116 120.25±12.61

0.049 20.98±3.34

0.240 22.55±2.98

0.342 16.86±2.07

0.964 Users 9 343.04±69.28 27.08±13.15 29.52±11.72 8.97±8.13

Lotion Nonusers 108 122.14±18.06

0.017 20.92±9.12

0.929 21.81±3.08

0.243 16.24±2.15

0.849 Users 17 294.43±47.52 21.50±3.47 30.93±8.10 16.68±5.65

Hair care products Nonusers 107 148.24±19.12 0.580 21.85±3.50 0.801 23.60±3.12 0.528 16.95±2.17 0.990




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Users 18 139.70±54.75 18.87±9.11 19.80±8.12 12.43±5.64

Perfume/cologne Nonusers 72 116.0±23.54

0.886 21.15±4.37

0.984 17.61±3.83

0.051 15.88±2.71

0.670 Users 53 185.73±27.79 21.78±5.16 30.44±4.52 16.86±3.20

Deodorant Nonusers 93 109.34±10.46

0.050 22.60±3.77

0.864 21.08±3.35

0.900 16.14±2.34

0.427 Users 32 192.73±36.19 17.97±6.68 28.78±5.93 16.76±4.15

Bold values indicate statistically significant (P<0.05). a: Separate models for each predictor and outcome. *Models adjusted for covariates including age,

education, income, smoking status, zone, season, physical activity, job category, body mass index (MANCOVA).

4- Discussion

In the present study the relationship between the use of personal care products (PCPs), as one of the

main sources of human exposure to parabens, and the urinary levels of parabens among the Iranian

male was studied. According to the findings, the detection frequency of the urinary MP, EP, PP and

BP (83-98%) was fairly high, suggesting that the study population has high exposure to parabens.

Our results demonstrated that the urinary concentrations of parabens, particularly BP, as well as the

distribution of these compounds in urine samples collected from Iranian men differ from those

results reported by the other countries. For instance, in Korea, the distribution of parabens

concentrations in urine samples taken from men was MP>EP>PP>BP based on the median urinary

concentrations of these substances (25). However, in our study, this pattern was MP>PP>EP>BP.

Furthermore, the urinary levels of parabens in the present study were higher than those values

reported in Greece, Poland, China, Saudi Arabia, and USA (7, 11, 26-28). It is possible that the

socioeconomic properties and lifestyles in different geographic regions resulted in differences in the

degree of exposure to parabens and therefore have changed the urinary concentrations of these

substances (18). Personal care products has been known as one of the most important sources of

exposure to parabens, thus the higher frequency of the use of PCPs can also result in higher

concentration of urinary parabens (3, 4, 7, 29).

According to our findings, a strong significant correlation was observed between MP and PP

(r=0.694). Besides, MP and PP showed a moderate positive significant correlation with BP. These

findings are in agreement with the results of previous studies carried out in the United States, Saudi

Arabia and other countries (4, 18, 25, 27). It is well-known that the MP and PP are two parabens

that widely used in cosmetics, foodstuff, and medicine (3). Therefore, the positive significant

correlation between MP and PP could be attributed to the use of these compounds as mixed

antibacterial preservatives in many of the aforementioned products (4).

Based on the results, hand washing and toothpaste products were the most frequently used PCPs

among the three categories of users (low users, medium users, and high users), the proportion of

participants who used these products increased from low users to high users (Fig. 1). In the fisher’s

study, the urinary concentrations of parabens were significantly different between different category

of users which was observed to be much higher for the high users group (30). Likewise, in the

present study the urinary concentrations of MP and PP among three groups of PCP users was

significantly different (p<0.05). Moreover, we found that the mean urinary concentration of MP in

the high user group was more than 2.5 times higher than those levels obtained in the medium and




Kashan, Iran

9

low users. Consistently, the urinary levels of PP in the high users were more than 2 and 3 times

higher than the obtained values for the medium and low users. However, only a slight difference

was observed in the case of BP and EP urinary concentration between the three categories of the

PCP users.

There are studies have shown that the urinary concentration of parabens mainly is due to the use of

PCPs rather than consumption of foodstuffs or pharmaceutical agents (31). Accordingly, an

interventional study on female adolescents demonstrated the urinary concentrations of MP and PP

after three days of using paraben-free PCPs is decreased by 43.9% and 45.4%, respectively (32). In

another study, Braun et al have also shown that the participants who used cosmetics, hair gel, and

lotion products 24 hours before urine sampling had higher urinary concentrations of parabens

compared to non-users (33). Likewise, it was found that pregnant women who used lotions and

cosmetics had higher urinary concentrations of parabens compared to those pregnant women who

did not use the same products (34). In consensus with the aforementioned studies, according to the

results of the multivariate analysis of covariance in our study, the participants who reported the use

of lotions, hand washing, mouthwash, sunscreen, and body wash products 24 hours before sampling

had higher urinary concentrations of parabens than non-users (Table4). This could be attributed to

the varying concentration of parabens in different formulations and brands as well as the higher

levels of paraben content especially used in the production of washing agents.

In previous report on American men, the highest increase in the urinary concentrations of parabens

was observed in the users of suntan/sunblock lotion (66-156%) and hand/body lotion products (79-

147%) (28). In another study, the urinary concentrations of MP, EP, PP, and BP among women who

had used lotions 24 hours before sampling was increased 80-110% compared to non-users group.

Moreover, it was found that the urinary concentration of BP among women who had used

conditioner, shampoo, eye makeup, and lip makeup was 72-84% higher than non-users (30). We

found that the increase in the urinary concentration of each paraben varied by type of PCPs used.

Accordingly, participants who reported the use of sunscreen, lotions and deodorant had significantly

higher urinary concentrations of MP (76-185%). The Body wash use in the previous 24 hour was

found to be significantly associated with the higher levels of urinary MP and PP (increased 112-

160%). The use of mouthwash, perfume / cologne and toothpaste has increased the urinary PP

concentrations 73-412% compared to those participants did not use these products. In addition, the

use of hand washing products in the last 24 hour prior to sampling significantly increased the levels

of parabens (MP, PP, and BP) to 158-520%. The differences these findings from different studies

could be attributed to the differences between the time intervals considered between the sample

void and collection of data on PCP use. Another possible reason may also be the use of products

from different brands, which could contain different levels of parabens. Taken together, our

findings demonstrated high urinary concentration of parabens among Iranian men, especially among

those participants who frequently used PCPs. These results imply that Iranian men are widely

exposed to paraben compounds which essentially associated with the use of PCPs Therefore, the

frequency of the use of PCPs can be used as a suitable measure of the degree of exposure to

parabens. One of the limitations of this study was that the data of PCP use was collected based on

self-reports, thus there may be underreporting biases. Moreover, it is possible that some participants

may have forgotten or not recorded some of the PCPs they have used. Moreover, other potential




Kashan, Iran

10

sources of exposure to parabens, including foods and medicines, have not been investigated in this

study; therefore, further studies are needed to determine the urinary concentration of parabens

considering the other sources of exposure to parabens rather than the use of PCPs. However, since

the exposure to parabens mainly occurs through the use of PCPs (14, 33) and there is probably no

relationship between the use of PCP and other sources of exposure (such as diet), these sources are

not expected to act as confounding factors and they do not affect the validity of our results.

Furthermore, in this study, the data was collected on a large number of PCPs (13 groups) compared

to the other studies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examined the possible

relationship between the urinary concentrations of parabens and the use of PCPs among Iranian

men. Therefore, the findings of this study provide the basis for further researches to evaluate the

exposure of Iranian male adults to parabens as well as associated health risks.

5- Conclusion

In this study, the urinary concentrations of parabens among 125 men were measured and

their relationship with the use of 13 distinct PCPs within 24 h prior to sampling was examined. The

high frequency of detection and urinary concentration of parabens showed that the Iranian males are

widely exposed to the parabens. Significant differences were observed between the urinary

concentrations of parabens among three different categories of PCP users (p<0.05), however the

higher level was found in high users group. Furthermore, the urinary concentration of parabens was

found to be dependent on the types of products used. According to the results, the participants who

reported the use of lotions, hand washing, mouthwash, sunscreen, and body wash products 24 hours

before sampling had higher urinary concentrations of parabens than non-users. The parabens level

of exposure among Iranian men has associated with the PCPs using habits. The findings of this

study provide the basis for further researches to evaluate the exposure of Iranian to parabens as well

as associated health risks. Moreover, further investigations are warranted to implement the

appropriate strategies in order to reduce the exposure of Iranian adult males to parabens.

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the financial assistance received from the Vice-

Chancellor of Research of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Iran.

6- References

1. Amasa W, Santiago D, Mekonen S, Ambelu A. Are cosmetics used in developing countries safe? Use and dermal irritation of body care products in Jimma Town, Southwestern Ethiopia. Journal of

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5th International and 24th National Conference on