Key result
Urinary paraben mixture linked to ~0.3-lower skin AGE z-scores in children.
Why the study?
Paraben exposure and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are both linked to hypertension, and parabens might affect blood pressure via AGEs, yet the association between parabens and AGEs had not been studied.
Does early-life urinary paraben exposure affect advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and blood pressure in children from age 4 to 10 years?
Cohort (n=83)
No
Does early-life urinary paraben exposure affect advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and blood pressure in children from age 4 to 10 years?
Early-life exposure to parabens, particularly propyl paraben, is inversely associated with dermal advanced glycation end products and shows complex direct and AGE-mediated effects on childhood blood pressure.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Paraben exposure should not alter pediatric guidelines; leaves open causal effects on AGEs and blood pressure.
BACKGROUND: Paraben exposure and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have both been linked to cardiovascular conditions, including hypertension. However, the association between parabens and AGEs has not been studied yet. Parabens could affect blood pressure (BP) via AGEs. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, urinary paraben concentrations [methyl (MeP), ethyl (EtP), propyl (PrP), butyl (BuP)] were measured in preschool children from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. BP and AGEs, assessed with skin-autofluorescence (SAF) z-scores, were measured at baseline (4 years) and six years later in 83 children (166 observations). First, generalized linear mixed models and quantile g-computation were applied to assess associations and mixture effects of parabens with AGEs and with BP. Next, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to disentangle time-specific effects in these associations and explore the role of AGEs as mediators in the relationship between parabens and BP. RESULTS: We observed an inverse association between the paraben mixture and AGEs (β = -0.30 per quantile increase; 95 % CI: -0.55, -0.042), driven by PrP with the strongest negative weight. Single-pollutant models confirmed this association for PrP (β = -0.15; 95 % CI: -2.51, -0.049). SEM revealed direct effects of parabens on systolic blood pressure at 4 years (est.std. = 0.50; 95 % Boot CI: 0.10, 0.82). AGEs mediated an inverse indirect effect of parabens on DBP at 10 years (β = -0.21; 95 % Boot CI: -0.41, -0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Early-life paraben exposure, particularly PrP, is associated with AGEs and blood pressure, warranting further investigation into long-term consequences.
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Reimann et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in Pediatric blood pressure and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (n=83). Urinary paraben mixture (methyl, ethyl, and propyl paraben) vs. Lower quantile of urinary paraben concentrations was evaluated on Change in advanced glycation end products (AGEs) assessed by skin-autofluorescence (SAF) z-scores per one-quantile increase in paraben mixture (β = -0.30, 95% CI -0.55, -0.042, p=0.024). Urinary paraben mixture exposure was inversely associated with skin advanced glycation end product z-scores (β = -0.30; 95% CI -0.55 to -0.042; p=0.024) in children followed from age 4 to 10 years.
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