The authors regret that some values were incorrectly reported in the manuscript. Revisions in the results and discussion sections are highlighted in red bold font below. The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Revised text in the Results and Discussion sections is high-lighted below in BOLD:
(Results)
The geometric mean (GM) concentration of MP was 56.5 μg/L in adults and 44.1 μg/L in children and the GM concentration for PP was 7.1 μg/L in adults and 5.1 μg/L in children. GM concentrations for the molar paraben sum was 88.2 μg/L and 65.7 μg/L for adults and children, respectively, and largely driven by methyl paraben concentrations. In adults, GM concentrations for MP, PP, and the molar sum were lower among obese individuals compared to those who were normal weight (adults: MP GM: 53.4 μg/L vs. 65.5 μg/L, p = 0.03; PP GM: 6.4 μg/L vs. 9.0 μg/L, p = 0.002; molar sum GM: 81.6 μg/L vs. 104.4 μg/L, p = 0.007).
Table 2.
Summary statistics for urinary paraben concentrations among adults (NHANES 2007-14) and children (NHANES 2007-12) in μg/L (μg/g Creatinine).a,b.
| Adults (N= 4730) | DF (%) | GM | GSD | Min | p25 | p50 | p75 | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BP | 38.8 | n/a | n/a | < LOD | < LOD | < LOD | 0.6(0.7) | 860(887) |
| EP | 51.9 | n/a | n/a | < LOD | < LOD | 1.1(1.6) | 6.7 (6.6) | 2100(1591) |
| MP | 99.6 | 56.5(58.8) | 2.4(2.5) | < LOD | 18.0(16.7) | 68.4(74.6) | 245.9(253.8) | 12500(8373) |
| PP | 95.0 | 7.1(7.4) | 0.34(0.34) | < LOD | 1.2(1.2) | 8.3 (8.8) | 50.9(54.5) | 4490(3276) |
| Molar Sum | - | 88.2 (91.7) | 3.7 (3.8) | 1.7 (1.4) | 25.9 (24.7) | 106.2 (114.3) | 378.7 (406.5) | 19299 (11851) |
| Children (N=1324) | ||||||||
| BP | 40.0 | n/a | n/a | < LOD | < LOD | < LOD | 0.4(0.5) | 493(197) |
| EP | 39.2 | n/a | n/a | < LOD | < LOD | < LOD | 2.3(2.4) | 1760(1044) |
| MP | 99.4 | 44.1(43.3) | 3.5(3.5) | < LOD | 15.7(16.9) | 52.4(50.1) | 194(178.8) | 13200(8250) |
| PP | 95.4 | 5.1(5.0) | 0.51(0.51) | < LOD | 1.2(1.2) | 5.5(5.2) | 28.9(27.2) | 2650(1766) |
| Molar Sum | - | 65.7 (64.5) | 5.2 (5.1) | 1.9 (1.6) | 23.2 (24.8) | 73.7 (74.8) | 291.7 (266.8) | 18555 (11597) |
Select summary statistics are not reported for butyl and ethyl paraben given their low detection frequencies; these statistics are denoted as “n/a”. Creatinine-adjusted concentrations (μg/gCre) are presented in parentheses.
Molar sum reflects the molar sum (Σ μmol/L) of butyl-(MW = 194), ethyl-(MW-166), methyl-(MW = 152), and propyl-(MW = 180) parabens in units of g/mol. Molar sum was expressed as propyl paraben in μg/L by multiplying by its MW (Σ μmol/L*180 = Σ μg/L). Abbreviations: DF: detection frequency; GM: geometric mean; GSD: geometric standard deviation; LOD: limit of detection (LODs for parabens in μg/L: butyl paraben = 0.2; ethyl paraben= 1.0; methyl paraben = 1.0; propyl paraben=0.2).
(Discussion)
Geometric mean paraben concentrations reported in Korean children were lower than those observed among children in our study for methyl paraben, but higher than those observed among children in our study for propyl paraben (MP- GM: 12.6 ug/gCre vs. 43.3 ug/ gCre; PP GM-: 7.1 ug/gCre vs. 5.0 ug/gCre).