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Letter
Plausibility of the findings reported in ‘Prenatal exposure to glycol ethers and cryptorchidism and hypospadias: a nested case–control study’ by Warembourg et al
  1. Karen Smet1,
  2. Jeffrey Kelsey2
  1. 1Safety, Health and Environment, INEOS NV, Zwijndrecht, Belgium
  2. 2Chemsage Ltd, Hampshire, UK
  1. Correspondence to Jeffrey Kelsey, Chemsage Ltd, Hampshire GU51 3DB, UK; kelsey{at}chemsage.co.uk

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The recent publication by Warembourg et al1 suggests several associations between exposure to glycol ethers during pregnancy and the development of male genital anomalies. We consider that a number of the findings and assumptions are of dubious credibility and, while some reach statistical significance, it is doubtful that a link with glycol ether exposure is biologically credible.

The amount of urinary samples containing detectable levels of methoxyacetic acid (MAA) (67%) is questionable. It is acknowledged that exposure to ethylene glycol methyl ether (EGME), ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (EGDME), diethylene glycol dimethyl ether  (DEGDME) and triethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) is unlikely due to regulations already in …

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Footnotes

  • Contributors Both authors contributed equally.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Not required.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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