Exposure Profiles and Screening-Level Risk Assessment of PCP-Related Chemicals in China: A Focus on Parabens

Chemicals in personal care products (PCPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants; however, nationally representative data on population-level exposure in China remain limited. Here, we quantified urinary concentrations of PCP-related chemicals in 1,817 participants from the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) program (2017-2018), using a multistage stratified sampling design. We characterized exposure patterns and conducted a screening-level exposure assessment. Parabens (PBs) were the most frequently detected chemicals, with methyl paraben (MeP) showing the highest quantification rate, followed by ethyl paraben (EtP) and normal propyl paraben (n-PrP). Higher exposure levels were observed among northern urban residents, females, and individuals aged 3-5 and 19-39 years. Lower rice intake and higher fruit consumption were associated with increased urinary concentrations. A small proportion of participants had hazard index values exceeding 1. Population-weighted extrapolation suggests that approximately 0.738% of the Chinese population (about 9.47 million individuals) may exceed screening-level reference values under conservative assumptions, with higher proportions among females and those aged 19-59 years. This study provides the first nationally representative characterization of exposure to multiple classes of PCP-related chemicals in China and offers important context for population exposure patterns.