Table 1. General characteristics of the participants.
| Category | Total (n = 3,796) | Men (n = 1,780) | Women (n = 2,016) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urinary benzophenone-3 (μg/g Cr)a | 12.8 ± 0.3 | 8.8 ± 0.2 | 17.0 ± 0.9 | 0.002b | |
| Range of quartile 1 (< 25th percentile) | < 0.25 | < 0.22 | < 0.31 | ||
| Range of quartile 2 (25–50th percentile) | 0.25 ≤ Total < 0.61 | 0.22 ≤ Men < 0.47 | 0.31 ≤ Women < 0.84 | ||
| Range of quartile 3 (50–75th percentile) | 0.61 ≤ Total < 1.73 | 0.47 ≤ Men < 1.06 | 0.84 ≤ Women < 2.51 | ||
| Range of quartile 4 (≥ 75th percentile) | ≥ 1.73 | ≥ 1.06 | ≥ 2.51 | ||
| Age (years) | 47.6 ± 0.1 | 46.9 ± 0.1 | 48.5 ± 0.1 | < 0.001b | |
| BMI (kg/m2)a | < 0.001c | ||||
| < 25 | 2,092 (56.9) | 860 (49.8) | 1,232 (64.4) | ||
| ≥ 25 | 170 (43.1) | 920 (50.2) | 784 (35.6) | ||
| Smoking status | < 0.001 | ||||
| Non-smoker (ex-smokers included) | 3,153 (81.0) | 1,198 (66.4) | 1,955 (96.6) | ||
| Current smoker | 643 (19.0) | 582 (33.6) | 61 (3.4) | ||
| Use of hair products within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 2,156 (59.5) | 1,283 (72.1) | 873 (46.1) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 1,137 (27.4) | 363 (19.5) | 774 (35.8) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 503 (13.1) | 134 (8.4) | 369 (18.1) | ||
| Use of perfume within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 2,901 (72.5) | 1,474 (78.1) | 1,427 (66.5) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 705 (21.7) | 238 (17.2) | 467 (26.4) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 190 (5.8) | 68 (4.7) | 122 (7.1) | ||
| Use of body-cleansing products within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 398 (8.2) | 354 (14.1) | 44 (1.7) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 894 (22.7) | 326 (18.0) | 568 (27.8) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 2,504 (69.1) | 1,100 (67.9) | 1,404 (70.5) | ||
| Use of make-up products within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 1,764 (47.4) | 1,461 (79.2) | 303 (13.5) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 806 (21.3) | 195 (13.1) | 611 (30.1) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 1,226 (31.3) | 124 (7.7) | 1,102 (56.4) | ||
| Use of manicure products within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 3,343 (87.9) | 1,776 (99.8) | 1,567 (75.2) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 422 (11.1) | 2 (0.1) | 420 (22.9) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 31 (1.0) | 2 (0.1) | 29 (1.9) | ||
| Use of antimicrobial products within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 2,404 (58.7) | 1,232 (63.8) | 1,172 (53.4) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 821 (23.9) | 308 (19.7) | 513 (28.3) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 571 (17.4) | 240 (16.5) | 331 (18.3) | ||
| Use of fragrance products within 3 months | 0.048 | ||||
| None | 2,649 (67.8) | 1,283 (68.3) | 1,366 (67.2) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 255 (7.7) | 107 (7.8) | 148 (7.5) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 892 (24.5) | 390 (23.9) | 502 (25.3) | ||
| Use of UV-filter products within 3 months | < 0.001 | ||||
| None | 1,748 (46.5) | 1,379 (74.8) | 369 (16.4) | ||
| < 6 times a week | 785 (21.1) | 260 (16.6) | 525 (25.9) | ||
| ≥ 6 times a week | 1,263 (32.4) | 141 (8.6) | 1,122 (57.7) | ||
| Drinking from PET bottles | < 0.001 | ||||
| Rarely | 1,047 (23.6) | 401 (18.3) | 646 (29.3) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 2,749 (76.4) | 1,379 (81.7) | 1,370 (70.7) | ||
| Drinking from plastic bag | 0.951 | ||||
| Rarely | 2,424 (66.2) | 1,140 (66.2) | 1,284 (66.2) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 1,372 (33.8) | 640 (33.8) | 732 (33.8) | ||
| Use of clear plastic container for cooked food | 0.112 | ||||
| Rarely | 2,987 (76.7) | 1,402 (76.3) | 1,585 (77.2) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 809 (23.3) | 378 (23.7) | 431 (22.8) | ||
| Use of clear plastic container for boiling water | 0.002 | ||||
| Rarely | 3,594 (94.4) | 1,673 (93.8) | 1,921 (95.1) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 202 (5.6) | 107 (6.2) | 95 (4.9) | ||
| Consumption of crustacean | 0.003 | ||||
| Rarely | 1,943 (47.5) | 883 (45.9) | 1,060 (49.2) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 1,853 (52.5) | 897 (54.1) | 956 (50.8) | ||
| Consumption of fish | 0.795 | ||||
| Rarely | 374 (11.1) | 167 (11.2) | 207 (11.1) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 3,422 (88.9) | 1,613 (88.8) | 1,809 (88.9) | ||
| Consumption of seaweed | < 0.001 | ||||
| Rarely | 224 (6.4) | 126 (7.7) | 98 (4.9) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 3,572 (93.6) | 1,654 (92.3) | 1,918 (95.1) | ||
| Consumption of shellfish | 0.003 | ||||
| Rarely | 1,767 (44.4) | 801 (43.0) | 966 (45.9) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 2,029 (55.6) | 979 (57.0) | 1,050 (54.1) | ||
| Consumption of other seafood | 0.001 | ||||
| Rarely | 1,465 (36.4) | 652 (34.0) | 813 (38.9) | ||
| ≥ Once a month | 2,331 (63.6) | 1,128 (66.0) | 1,203 (61.1) | ||
Data are shown as number (%) for categorical variables and as mean ± standard error for continuous variables.
BMI: body mass index; UV: ultraviolet; PET: polyethylene terephthalate.
aUnweighted count; bThe p-value by independent 2 sample t-test; cThe p-value by χ2 test.