There is an argument that BPA substitutes may have the same or more deleterious health effects as BPA due to their structural similarity. This study explored the association between urinary BPA substitutes and precocious puberty among girls by including 120 girls with precocious puberty (cases) aged 2–10 years enrolled at Nanjing Children’s Hospital Department of Endocrinology in China between April 2021 to September 2021 and 145 healthy girls (controls) recruited from a primary school. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of single exposures, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) and quantile-based g-computation were used for the mixed effect. In the multivariate logistic regression, BPS (bisphenol S), TBBPA (tetrabromobisphenol A), and BPFL (bisphenol-FL) were significantly associated with increased risk of precocious puberty (odds ratio (OR) = 1.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13, 2.76, p = 0.014), (OR = 1.46, CI: 1.06, 2.05; p = 0.023), and (OR = 1.47, CI: 1.01, 2.18; p = 0.047), respectively. The BMKR and quantile-based g-computation models revealed consistent associations for single exposures and there was insufficient evidence for the associations of the mixed exposure of bisphenols with precocious puberty. In conclusion, BPA substitutes such as BPS, TBBPA, and BPFL may be associated with an increased risk of precocious puberty in girls.

Background: Evidence from animal experiments and epidemiological studies has reported controversial results about the effects of prenatal bisphenols (BPs) exposure on childhood thyroid function. This study aims to explore the associations of prenatal exposure to BPs with thyroid-related hormones (THs) in newborns and early childhood, with a particular focus on the sex-dependent and exposure level effects.Methods: Correlated studies were systematically searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, Cochrane, and Embase until February 21, 2024. The exposures assessed include bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol AF (BPAF), and tetrachlorobisphenol A (TCBPA). THs measured were thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total tri-iodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), free tri-iothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4). Effect estimates were quantified using coefficients from multivariable regression models. Statistical analyses were completed using Stata 16.0. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).Results: Eleven cohort studies comprising 5,363 children were included in our meta-analysis. Prenatal bisphenol concentrations were statistically significant related to alterations in thyroid hormones in children, exclusively in female offspring, including reduced TSH (β = -0.020, 95% CI: -0.036, -0.005) and increased TT3 levels (β = 0.011, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.021), and exposure to high concentration of bisphenols (>1.5 ug/g creatinine) significantly reduced FT3 levels in children (β = -0.011, 95% CI: -0.020, -0.003).Conclusion: Prenatal bisphenol exposure is linked to alterations in thyroid hormone levels in girls, necessitating enhanced measures to control bisphenol exposure levels during pregnancy for child health protection.Systematic Review Registration: https://inplasy.com, identifier INPLASY202450129.

Background: While vitamin deficiencies can pose serious health consequences for the body, excessive intake of vitamins can also lead to health risks. However, there is limited data about the impact of multivitamins on neurological and growth disorders. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between multivitamins and neurological and growth disorders.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 16,921 subjects who visited the Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from 2019 to 2021. The subjects were categorized into two groups based on their health status including 9,368 cases (4,484 with neurological disorders and 4,884 with growth disorders) and 7,553 healthy controls. Statistical tests including the T-test, Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, and Chi-Square test were employed to compare the groups, and logistic regression and Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression were used to identify associations.Results: In the adjusted logistic regression, serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], vitamin B2, and vitamin B9 were associated with decreasing risks of neurological disorders, whereas vitamin A, vitamin B1, and vitamin B12 were associated with increasing risks of neurological disorders. Nevertheless, vitamin A and vitamin B2 were associated with increasing risks of growth disorders. In the WQS model, nine multivitamins were positively associated with risks of neurological disorders, and Vitamins D and C were weighted the most. In addition, the inverse association but not statistically significant was observed between multivitamins and growth disorders, particularly growth retardation revealed a negative association, and some individual growth disorders revealed positive associations including obesity and malnutrition.Conclusion: In general, the study observed that multivitamins may be associated with neurological and growth disorders either positive or negative depending on the type of disorder.

There is limited evidence about the gender- and obesity-specific effects of personal care product and plasticizing chemicals (PCPPCs) on short sleep duration in adults. We evaluated the gender- and obesity-specific association of co-exposure to PCPPCs and short sleep duration among adults aged 20–60 years using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2016, a secondary data source from the United States. Seventeen PCPPCs, including five phenols, two parabens, and ten phthalates, were detected, and sleep duration was assessed among 3012 adults. Logistic regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were employed. We found that bisphenol A (BPA), mono (caboxy-isooctyl) phthalate (MCOP), and mono (3-carboxypropyl) phthalate (MCPP) were consistently positively associated with short sleep duration in both females and males regardless of obesity status, except for BPA with general obesity. In particular, mono benzyl phthalate (MBzP) revealed a positive association in females, mono (2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) revealed a positive association in males, and MiBP revealed a positive association in abdominal obesity. Similar associations were observed in the mixture. Our study highlights that PCPPCs are independently associated with an increasing risk of short sleep duration in adults both individually and as a mixture; however, gender- and obesity-specific differences may have little effect on certain individual PCPPCs on short sleep duration.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have surpassed infectious diseases as the leading cause of disability and mortality globally. However, the burden of NCDs among children and adolescents in the Asia-Pacific region remains underexplored. This study evaluates changes in NCD burden among individuals aged 0–19 years in the Asia-Pacific region from 1990 to 2021. Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) 2021 study, we estimated deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We analyzed changes in disease burden by age, sex, location, and socio-demographic index (SDI) between 1990 and 2021. Results: In 2021, NCDs accounted for a YLD rate of 56488.99 (95% UI: 40849.26–75780.79) and a death rate of 356.45 (95% UI: 280.27–433.27) per 100,000 population among children and adolescents aged 0–19 years. Other NCDs were the leading cause of death (167.08 [95% UI: 116.63–216.90]), YLLs (14584.60 [95% UI: 10126.88–18,962.14]), and DALYs (20327.20 [95% UI: 14815.25–26238.15]) per 100,000, while mental disorders led in YLDs. Death rates were higher in males, but DALYs were higher in females. From 1990 to 2021, NCD death rates decreased by 44.63% (from 643.71 [95% UI: 508.48–758.86] to 356.45 [95% UI: 280.27–433.27]) and YLLs by 45.49%. However, mental disorder-related deaths, YLLs, and DALYs increased by 29.26%, 29.16%, and 10.07%, respectively. Lower SDI countries reported higher NCD burdens, particularly for other NCDs. Conclusions: While the NCD burden among children and adolescents in the Asia-Pacific region decreased significantly from 1990 to 2021, the rising burden of mental disorders is a critical public health concern.

Background: Bisphenols (BPs) are present in medical instruments, plastic containers, and personal care products (PCPs). Bisphenol A has been replaced by its alternatives, bisphenol S, F, AF, and B. Due to the awareness of their toxicity, mixed exposure to these alternatives at the regional level has been given less attention; there is a need to study this area of research. This meta-analysis examined the exposure of urinary bisphenol A and its metabolites to blood Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Thyroid axis hormones (HPT axis hormones) in pregnant women and adult males and females. We searched Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL until 8 January 2025, yielding 4588 articles using the PECO framework. Quality assessment was done using AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for cross-sectional and NOS: Newcastle Ottawa Scale for cohort studies, with combined exposure evaluated using random and fixed-effect models. The I² test assessed heterogeneity. We included eighteen studies for the final analysis. Fixed-effect model estimates revealed that BPA is negatively associated with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in female and male adults (β = −0.02; 95% CI = −0.04 to −0.01); (β = −0.08; 95% CI = −0.14 to −0.02). In Females, BPA was positively associated with free thyroxine, FT4 (β = 0.001, 95% CI, 0.001 to 0.001). In the male group, BPA was negatively associated with FT4 (β = −0.001, 95% CI, −0.001 to −0.001). As per pregnant women, there was no association found between exposure to bisphenols and total Thyroxine (TT4), FT4, and TSH in both trimesters (β = 0.010, 95% CI = −0.030 to 0.050); (β = 0.001, 95% CI = −0.010 to 0.010); (β = −0.001, 95% CI = −0.010 to 0.001), respectively, for early pregnancy. Bisphenols can significantly influence HPT axis hormones in adult males, females, and pregnant women. Gender-based studies were observed, concluding that adult females are more affected by bisphenol exposures than adult males. The subgroup analysis based on the regions did not reveal any associations.