# Brain Influences of Phthalates and Bisphenols in Adolescents

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $620,467

## Abstract

Project Summary
This proposal will leverage unprecedented data from a Dutch birth cohort to examine the influence of phthalate
and bisphenol exposures in multiple potentially susceptible periods on executive function and behavior in
adolescents. Substantial literature has investigated the negative impact of prenatal exposures to phthalates
and bisphenols on developmental programming of cognition and behavior. Yet few studies have examined
exposures beyond early childhood. Further, the rigor of earlier studies is limited due to the lack of focus on
mechanisms and failure to apply a life course approach. We propose to measure urinary levels of phthalates
and bisphenols at ages 9–10 and 13–14 years in ≈ 1000 participants of Generation R, the largest
neuroimaging study in the general pediatric population enrolled prenatally with follow-up through adolescence.
We will evaluate executive function and behavior in children at age 16–18 years and measure sex hormones.
Available data on measures of chemicals during the prenatal period and at 5–6 years, thyroid function in both
mother and child, brain magnetic resonance imaging at ages 9–10 and 13–14 years, and feasibility of follow-up
during adolescence provide an exceptional opportunity to parse out neurotoxic effects of pre- and postnatal
exposures and identify the mechanisms. The large sample size will allow assessing sex as a biological
variable. Specific aims are 1) to determine the impact of prenatal, childhood, and early adolescent phthalate
and bisphenol exposures on executive function and behavior in adolescents and 2) to examine potential
mechanisms underlying adverse influences of phthalates and bisphenols including thyroid and sex hormone
disruption as well as brain structural abnormalities and white matter integrity. We hypothesize that chemical
exposures during childhood and adolescence are associated with impaired executive function and behavioral
problems, independent of prenatal exposure. Perturbations of thyroid and sex hormones are hypothesized to
partly explain this association. We expect to observe the impact of childhood and early adolescence exposures
on parietal lobe, attention networks, and prefrontal and limbic tracts, independent of the global effect of
prenatal chemical exposures. This proposal is grounded on evidence showing that significant growth and
maturation of the adolescent brain occurs in response to hormonal changes. Our preliminary data show anti-
androgenic effects of di-2-ethylhexylphthalate in adolescents and thyroid disruption by prenatal phthalate and
bisphenol exposures. Because of similarities in exposure levels in this Dutch cohort and the US samples,
findings of this study will be applicable to the US context. Understanding the neurotoxicity of phthalates and
bisphenols during adolescence has high implications because the plasticity of the adolescent brain makes this
period a time of considerable opportunity for intervention. If the adolescent brain is found ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10489682
- **Project number:** 5R01ES032826-02
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Akhgar Ghassabian
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $620,467
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-17 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10489682

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10489682, Brain Influences of Phthalates and Bisphenols in Adolescents (5R01ES032826-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10489682. Licensed CC0.

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