Male Child IQ Affected By Exposure To Chemicals In Consumer Products During Pregnancy
Source: Thailand Medical News Oct 24, 2019 5 years, 4 weeks, 1 day, 17 hours, 31 minutes ago
A study by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Karlstad University, Sweden show that exposure during the first trimester of
pregnancy to mixtures of suspected
endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in many consumer products is related to lower
IQ in children by age 7. This study is among the first to look at prenatal suspected
endocrine-disrupting chemical mixtures in relation to neurodevelopment.
The medical researchers measured 26 chemicals in the blood and urine of 718 mothers during the first trimester of their
pregnancies in the study of Swedish mothers and children, known as SELMA. These chemicals included
bisphenol A (
BPA), which is found in plastic food and drink containers, as well as pesticides, phthalates, and other chemicals found in consumer products. Some of the 26 are known to
disrupt endocrine (hormone) activity in humans; others have been shown to do so only in animals, or are suspected of
endocrine disruption because they share chemical features with known disruptors.
The team later followed up with the children at age 7 and found that those whose mothers had higher levels of the chemicals in their system during
pregnancy had lower
IQ scores particularly boys, whose scores were lower by two points. Within the mixture,
bisphenol F (
BPF), a
BPA-replacement compound, made the highest contribution to lowering children's
IQ, suggesting that
px">BPF is not any safer for children than
BPA.
The study found that other chemicals of concern in the mixture were the pesticide chloropyrifos; polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are found in cleaning products; triclosan, a chemical found in antibacterial soaps; and phthalates, which are found in soft polyvinyl chloride plastics and cosmetics. Many of the chemicals only stay in the body a short time, meaning that even a short-term exposure may be detrimental, so researchers believe this indicates that preventing exposures to
pregnant women or women trying to become
pregnant is critical to preventing neurological harm to children.
The study was published in
Environment International this month.
Dr Eva Tanner, PhD, MPH, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai commented in an interview with
Thailand Medical News, "This study is significant because most studies evaluate one chemical at a time; however, humans are exposed to many chemicals at the same time, and multiple exposures may be harmful even when each individual chemical is at a low level."
Carl-Gustaf Bornehag, PhD, Professor at Karlstad University, says it shows that exposure to mixtures of chemicals in ordinary consumer products may affect child brain development and that some chemicals believed to be safer, like
BPF, may not be any safer for children.
These chemicals found in lots of consumer products interfere with hormone activity, even at low levels. Previous studies link numerous suspected
endocrine disruptors, including phthalates and BPA, to neurodevelopmental difficulties in children.
The research shows that some of these chemicals cross the placenta during
pregnancy, exposing the fetus and potentially causing irreversible developmental damage. While ending exposure to a short-lived pollutant may eliminate adverse effects in adults, exposure during critical periods of fetal development may be permanent, with subtle
endocrine changes potentially influencing health outcomes into adulthood.
The chemicals that affected unborn male fetuses most, were a group known as
endocrine disrupting chemicals and the most common was BPA and also its so called safe replacement known as bisphenol F which is found in many baby products and consumer goods.
Pregnant mothers are advised to be careful about the type of consumer goods that they are in contact with from household cleaners, toiletries, skincare products and even disposables and packaging materials and plastic containers and products of any kind.
Reference: Tanner E, et al "Early Prenatal Exposure to Suspected Endocrine Disruptor Mixtures is Associated with Lower IQ at Age Seven" Environ Int 2019.
