TG and thyroid gland disorder: The associations between MEHP and thyroid hormones in the present study are somewhat consistent with limited animal studies, in which rats fed DEHP-contaminated diets had histopathologic thyroid changes consistent with hyperactivity and decreased T4 concentrations compared with controls, whereas T3 levels remained essentially unchanged (Hinton et al. 1986; Howarth et al. 2001; Poon et al. 1997; Price et al. 1988).