Associations between phthalic acid esters in household dust and childhood asthma in Shanghai, China.

Abstract Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) have a negative impact on human health and are widely distributed in China. As part of the China, Children, Home, Health (CCHH) study, we investigated the associations between childhood asthmatic symptoms and PAEs in settled house dust in Shanghai, China. We found that di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP) were abundant in the indoor environment. A total of 27 % of children suffered from diagnosed asthma. The Mann-Whitney U test and multiple logistic regression were used to obtain the associations between PAEs and childhood asthmatic symptoms. Stratification analysis was performed to reveal the influence of gender on the associations between PAE exposure and target symptoms. Compared with low concentrations of PAEs, high concentrations of high molecular weight PAEs (HMW-PAEs) were significantly associated with childhood diagnosed asthma (adjusted odds ratios (AORs) > 1, P