Variability and predictors of urinary organophosphate ester concentrations among school-aged children

Organophosphate esters (OPE) are flame retardants and plasticizers used in a wide range of consumer products. Despite their widespread use, few studies have characterized pediatric exposures. We assessed variability and predictors of OPE exposures in a cohort panel study of 179 predominantly Black school-aged children with asthma in Baltimore City, MD. The study design included up to four seasonal week-long in-home study visits with urine sample collection on days 4 and 7 of each visit (n_samples = 618). We quantified concentrations of 9 urinary OPE biomarkers: bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEtp), bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCPP), di-benzyl phosphate (DBuP), di-benzyl phosphate, di-o-cresylphosphate, di-p-cresylphosphate (DPCP), di-(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP), 2,3,4,5-tetrabromo benzoic acid. We assessed potential predictors of exposure, including demographic factors, household characteristics, and cleaning behaviors. We calculated Spearman/tetrachoric correlations and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to examine within-week and seasonal intra-individual variability, respectively. We assessed OPE predictors using linear models for continuous log₂ concentrations (BDCPP and DPHP) and logistic models for odds of detection (BCEtP, DBuP, DPCP), with generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures. For all OPEs, we observed moderate within-week correlations (r_s: 0.31–0.63) and weak to moderate seasonal reliability (ICC: 0.18–0.38). BDCPP and DPHP concentrations were higher in the summer compared to other seasons. DPHP concentrations were lower among males than females (%_diff: −53.5%; 95% CI: −62.7, −42.0) and among participants spending >12 h/day indoors compared to ≤12 h (%_diff: −20.7%; 95% CI: −32.2, −7.3). BDCPP concentrations were lower among children aged 8–10 years compared to 5–7 years (%_diff: −39.1%; 95% CI: −55.9, −15.9) and higher among children riding in a vehicle on the day of sample collection compared to those who had not (%_diff: 28.5%; 95% CI: 3.4, 59.8). This study is the first to characterize within-week and seasonal variability and identify predictors of OPE biomarkers among Black school-aged children, a historically understudied population.