Ann M. Vuong (Epidemiology & Biostatistics) recently co-published an article on "Maternal Urinary Organophosphate Esters and Alterations in Maternal and Neonatal Thyroid Hormones" in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Production of organophosphate esters (OPEs), which represent a major flame retardant class present in consumer goods, has risen over the past two decades. Experimental studies suggest that OPEs may be associated with thyroid hormone disruption, but few human studies have examined this association. The authors quantified OPE metabolites in the urine of 298 pregnant women in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study from Cincinnati, Ohio (enrolled 2003-2006) at three time points (16 and 26 weeks’ gestation, delivery), and thyroid hormones in 16-week maternal and newborn cord sera. Urinary bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)-phosphate concentrations were generally associated with decreased triiodothyronine and thyroxine and increased thyroid stimulating hormone in maternal and newborn thyroid hormones in quartile dose-response analyses and multiple informant models.