PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Charline Warembourg AU - Jérémie Botton AU - Nathalie Lelong AU - Florence Rouget AU - Babak Khoshnood AU - Florent Le Gléau AU - Christine Monfort AU - Laurence Labat AU - Fabrice Pierre AU - Barbara Heude AU - Rémy Slama AU - Luc Multigner AU - Marie-Aline Charles AU - Sylvaine Cordier AU - Ronan Garlantézec TI - Prenatal exposure to glycol ethers and cryptorchidism and hypospadias: a nested case–control study AID - 10.1136/oemed-2017-104391 DP - 2018 Jan 01 TA - Occupational and Environmental Medicine PG - 59--65 VI - 75 IP - 1 4099 - http://oem.bmj.com/content/75/1/59.short 4100 - http://oem.bmj.com/content/75/1/59.full SO - Occup Environ Med2018 Jan 01; 75 AB - Objectives Glycol ethers (GE) are oxygenated solvents frequently found in occupational and consumer products. Some of them are well-known testicular and developmental animal toxicants. This study aims to evaluate the risk of male genital anomalies in association with prenatal exposure to GE using urinary biomarkers of exposure.Methods We conducted a case–control study nested in two joint mother–child cohorts (5303 pregnant women). Cases of cryptorchidism and hypospadias were identified at birth and confirmed during a 2-year follow-up period (n=14 cryptorchidism and n=15 hypospadias). Each case was matched to three randomly selected controls within the cohorts for region of inclusion and gestational age at urine sampling. Concentrations of five GE acidic metabolites were measured in spot maternal urine samples collected during pregnancy. ORs were estimated with multivariate conditional logistic regressions including a Firth’s penalisation.Results Detection rates of urinary GE metabolites ranged from 8% to 93% and only two were sufficiently detected (>33%) in each cohort to be studied: methoxyacetic acid (MAA) and phenoxyacetic acid (PhAA). A significantly higher risk of hypospadias was associated with the highest tertile of exposure to MAA: OR (95% CI) 4.5(1.4 to 23.4). No association were observed with urinary concentration of PhAA, nor with the risk of cryptorchidism.Conclusions In view of the toxicological plausibility of our results, this study, despite its small sample size, raises concern about the potential developmental toxicity of MAA on the male genital system and calls for thorough identification of current sources of exposure to MAA.