News | Plasticizer concerns: Study identifies potential threats to children’s sexual development from everyday chemicals
The toys, cleaning products, personal-care products, and food packaging children encounter every day may be quietly affecting their sexual development. A new study from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy suggests that high exposure to plasticizers called phthalates may cause abnormalities in reproductive development before age three and could even affect future fertility.
The study’s central finding was that three-year-old boys whose mothers had higher plasticizer concentrations had significantly shorter anogenital distance (AGD). In girls, shorter AGD was associated with their own plasticizer exposure: the greater the exposure, the shorter the distance.
AGD, the distance between the anus and genitals, has become a widely used indicator of sexual development. It is closely associated with fetal androgen levels and with sperm quality, fertility, and the risk of related endocrine disorders in adulthood.
Plasticizers: Hidden endocrine disruptors in everyday products
Plasticizers are chemicals commonly used to make plastics more flexible. They are widely found in food packaging, children’s toys, cosmetics, shampoo, and household cleaning products. Although some high-risk plasticizers have gradually been restricted, several less strictly regulated substitutes are still found at high levels in the body.
The team followed 188 mother-child pairs, collecting maternal urine samples after childbirth and samples from the children at age three. They also measured the children’s AGD at birth, three months, six months, and three years. Metabolites of eight common plasticizers were detected in every sample and increased over time. Exposure in most mother-child samples exceeded currently recommended international health thresholds.
‘We were surprised to find such high exposure to several plasticizers that are not currently subject to strict regulation,’ said lead author Dr. Laura Lucaccioni, a pediatric endocrinologist. ‘This is particularly concerning because safety thresholds for antiandrogenic effects have been lowered in recent years. Long-term daily exposure may pose a serious health threat to the next generation.’
Boys and girls may be affected differently
The study also found that maternal plasticizer exposure mainly affected boys, while sexual development in girls was more likely to be associated with their own postnatal exposure. This suggests that plasticizers may affect development in boys and girls through different hormonal pathways.
Dr. Lucaccioni cautioned that the sample size was too small to draw firm conclusions about sex differences. ‘What is clear, however, is that plasticizers are endocrine disruptors that affect sexual development in all children, and our findings confirm this.’
Next step: Tracking abnormal sexual development through puberty
The findings were presented at the joint meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), where they drew considerable attention. Dr. Lucaccioni said the team will continue following the children through preschool and puberty to determine whether long-term exposure causes endocrine conditions such as precocious or delayed puberty.
‘We are establishing a more comprehensive follow-up system to assess the long-term effects of plasticizers on children’s hormonal systems before and during puberty.’
Expert urges greater public awareness of chemicals in everyday products
Dr. Lucaccioni emphasized that the public should pay attention to the sources of everyday products and called on governments to introduce strong public-health policies promptly to restrict high-risk plasticizers in children’s products:
‘The eight plasticizers analyzed in our study are widely present in everyday products, including toys, soap, shampoo, skin-care products, and cosmetics. Prevention depends on controlling them at the source, establishing simple and practical alternatives, and improving consumer awareness of the risks.’
News | Plasticizer concerns: Study identifies potential threats to children’s sexual development from everyday chemicals
News | Plasticizer concerns: Study identifies potential threats to children’s sexual development from everyday chemicals
The toys, cleaning products, personal-care products, and food packaging children encounter every day may be quietly affecting their sexual development. A new study from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy suggests that high exposure to plasticizers called phthalates may cause abnormalities in reproductive development before age three and could even affect future fertility.
The study’s central finding was that three-year-old boys whose mothers had higher plasticizer concentrations had significantly shorter anogenital distance (AGD). In girls, shorter AGD was associated with their own plasticizer exposure: the greater the exposure, the shorter the distance.
AGD, the distance between the anus and genitals, has become a widely used indicator of sexual development. It is closely associated with fetal androgen levels and with sperm quality, fertility, and the risk of related endocrine disorders in adulthood.
Plasticizers: Hidden endocrine disruptors in everyday products
Plasticizers are chemicals commonly used to make plastics more flexible. They are widely found in food packaging, children’s toys, cosmetics, shampoo, and household cleaning products. Although some high-risk plasticizers have gradually been restricted, several less strictly regulated substitutes are still found at high levels in the body.
The team followed 188 mother-child pairs, collecting maternal urine samples after childbirth and samples from the children at age three. They also measured the children’s AGD at birth, three months, six months, and three years. Metabolites of eight common plasticizers were detected in every sample and increased over time. Exposure in most mother-child samples exceeded currently recommended international health thresholds.
‘We were surprised to find such high exposure to several plasticizers that are not currently subject to strict regulation,’ said lead author Dr. Laura Lucaccioni, a pediatric endocrinologist. ‘This is particularly concerning because safety thresholds for antiandrogenic effects have been lowered in recent years. Long-term daily exposure may pose a serious health threat to the next generation.’
Boys and girls may be affected differently
The study also found that maternal plasticizer exposure mainly affected boys, while sexual development in girls was more likely to be associated with their own postnatal exposure. This suggests that plasticizers may affect development in boys and girls through different hormonal pathways.
Dr. Lucaccioni cautioned that the sample size was too small to draw firm conclusions about sex differences. ‘What is clear, however, is that plasticizers are endocrine disruptors that affect sexual development in all children, and our findings confirm this.’
Next step: Tracking abnormal sexual development through puberty
The findings were presented at the joint meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), where they drew considerable attention. Dr. Lucaccioni said the team will continue following the children through preschool and puberty to determine whether long-term exposure causes endocrine conditions such as precocious or delayed puberty.
‘We are establishing a more comprehensive follow-up system to assess the long-term effects of plasticizers on children’s hormonal systems before and during puberty.’
Expert urges greater public awareness of chemicals in everyday products
Dr. Lucaccioni emphasized that the public should pay attention to the sources of everyday products and called on governments to introduce strong public-health policies promptly to restrict high-risk plasticizers in children’s products:
‘The eight plasticizers analyzed in our study are widely present in everyday products, including toys, soap, shampoo, skin-care products, and cosmetics. Prevention depends on controlling them at the source, establishing simple and practical alternatives, and improving consumer awareness of the risks.’
Source:
Collected online