{"id":{"repo_id":"umkc","oai_identifier":"oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/112357"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/umkc/oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/112357","repository":{"repo_id":"umkc","name":"University of Missouri - Kansas City","base_url":"https://mospace.umsystem.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Urinary phthalate exposure and reproductive outcomes in U.S. women: evidence of dose-response associations in NHANES 2003-2014","abstract":"Phthalates are a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals widely used in consumer products and consistently detected in human populations. Although experimental studies suggest that phthalate exposure may affect reproductive function, evidence in women at the population level remains limited and not fully consistent. This study examined the relationship between urinary phthalate metabolites and reproductive outcomes among women aged 18 to 44 years using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2014 (N = 1,806).Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between log-transformed urinary phthalate metabolites and parity, adjusting for age, body mass index, socioeconomic factors, and urinary creatinine. For most metabolites, the estimated associations were close to no meaningful effect. However, mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) showed a modest positive association with parity in the fully adjusted model (1.19 (1.02, 1.37)). In quartile-based analyses, higher MBzP exposure levels were associated with increasing odds of parity, with evidence of a linear trend (p-trend = 0.029). These findings were generally consistent across sensitivity analyses, including alternative methods of creatinine adjustment and exclusion of extreme values. A cumulative exposure index for phthalates did not demonstrate stronger associations than individual metabolites, suggesting that individual compounds may be more informative than the composite exposure summary for this outcome. Secondary analyses of subfertility and menstrual irregularity were more limited due to smaller sample sizes and reduced statistical power. MBzP showed a modest positive association with parity that warrants cautious interpretation and replication in longitudinal studies using more proximal reproductive endpoints.","abstract_html":"Phthalates are a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals widely used in consumer products and consistently detected in human populations. Although experimental studies suggest that phthalate exposure may affect reproductive function, evidence in women at the population level remains limited and not fully consistent. This study examined the relationship between urinary phthalate metabolites and reproductive outcomes among women aged 18 to 44 years using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2014 (N = 1,806).Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between log-transformed urinary phthalate metabolites and parity, adjusting for age, body mass index, socioeconomic factors, and urinary creatinine. For most metabolites, the estimated associations were close to no meaningful effect. However, mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) showed a modest positive association with parity in the fully adjusted model (1.19 (1.02, 1.37)). In quartile-based analyses, higher MBzP exposure levels were associated with increasing odds of parity, with evidence of a linear trend (p-trend = 0.029). These findings were generally consistent across sensitivity analyses, including alternative methods of creatinine adjustment and exclusion of extreme values. A cumulative exposure index for phthalates did not demonstrate stronger associations than individual metabolites, suggesting that individual compounds may be more informative than the composite exposure summary for this outcome. Secondary analyses of subfertility and menstrual irregularity were more limited due to smaller sample sizes and reduced statistical power. MBzP showed a modest positive association with parity that warrants cautious interpretation and replication in longitudinal studies using more proximal reproductive endpoints.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thondepu, Anusha"],"institution":"University of Missouri--Kansas City","degree_name":"M.S. (Master of Science)","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Bioinformatics (UMKC)","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Bhattacharyya, Sudeepa"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026","date_published":"2026","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:19:40Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10355/112357","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Bhattacharyya, Sudeepa"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thondepu, Anusha"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-06-23T19:09:13Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-06-23T19:09:13Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Bioinformatics (UMKC)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S. 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Although experimental studies suggest that phthalate exposure may affect reproductive function, evidence in women at the population level remains limited and not fully consistent. This study examined the relationship between urinary phthalate metabolites and reproductive outcomes among women aged 18 to 44 years using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2014 (N = 1,806).Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between log-transformed urinary phthalate metabolites and parity, adjusting for age, body mass index, socioeconomic factors, and urinary creatinine. For most metabolites, the estimated associations were close to no meaningful effect. However, mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) showed a modest positive association with parity in the fully adjusted model (1.19 (1.02, 1.37)). In quartile-based analyses, higher MBzP exposure levels were associated with increasing odds of parity, with evidence of a linear trend (p-trend = 0.029). These findings were generally consistent across sensitivity analyses, including alternative methods of creatinine adjustment and exclusion of extreme values. A cumulative exposure index for phthalates did not demonstrate stronger associations than individual metabolites, suggesting that individual compounds may be more informative than the composite exposure summary for this outcome. Secondary analyses of subfertility and menstrual irregularity were more limited due to smaller sample sizes and reduced statistical power. MBzP showed a modest positive association with parity that warrants cautious interpretation and replication in longitudinal studies using more proximal reproductive endpoints."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Urinary phthalate exposure and reproductive outcomes in U.S. women: evidence of dose-response associations in NHANES 2003-2014"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Bhattacharyya, Sudeepa"],"dc:creator":["Thondepu, Anusha"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-06-23T19:09:13Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-06-23T19:09:13Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026"],"dc:description":["Title from PDF of title page viewed July 10, 2026","Vita","Thesis advisor: Stephen Simon","Includes bibliographical references (page 51-54)","Thesis (M.S.)--School of Medicine. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2026"],"dc:description.abstract":["Phthalates are a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals widely used in consumer products and consistently detected in human populations. Although experimental studies suggest that phthalate exposure may affect reproductive function, evidence in women at the population level remains limited and not fully consistent. This study examined the relationship between urinary phthalate metabolites and reproductive outcomes among women aged 18 to 44 years using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2014 (N = 1,806).Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between log-transformed urinary phthalate metabolites and parity, adjusting for age, body mass index, socioeconomic factors, and urinary creatinine. For most metabolites, the estimated associations were close to no meaningful effect. However, mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) showed a modest positive association with parity in the fully adjusted model (1.19 (1.02, 1.37)). In quartile-based analyses, higher MBzP exposure levels were associated with increasing odds of parity, with evidence of a linear trend (p-trend = 0.029). These findings were generally consistent across sensitivity analyses, including alternative methods of creatinine adjustment and exclusion of extreme values. A cumulative exposure index for phthalates did not demonstrate stronger associations than individual metabolites, suggesting that individual compounds may be more informative than the composite exposure summary for this outcome. Secondary analyses of subfertility and menstrual irregularity were more limited due to smaller sample sizes and reduced statistical power. MBzP showed a modest positive association with parity that warrants cautious interpretation and replication in longitudinal studies using more proximal reproductive endpoints."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10355/112357"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:title":["Urinary phthalate exposure and reproductive outcomes in U.S. women: evidence of dose-response associations in NHANES 2003-2014"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Bioinformatics (UMKC)"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S. (Master of Science)"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Missouri--Kansas City"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:19:40Z"}