A study found that toxic chemicals found in dishes, cosmetics and toiletries can cause infertility in women.
Scientists have been warning about the dangers of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, for years.
The “timeless chemicals,” so named because they can persist in the environment for thousands of years, have been linked to everything from cancer to infertility.
But the latest data from American and Singaporean researchers suggests that the effect of PFAS on fertility may be greater than expected.
They found that women who had multiple types of PFAS in their blood and were trying to conceive had a 40% lower chance of getting pregnant and having a live baby.
The scientists said the findings should serve as a warning to women wanting to have children to stay away from chemicals that are added to everything from dishes, clothes and cosmetics because of their stain and water repellency.
And in the findings, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, lead author Dr. Nathan Cohen, an expert in environmental medicine and public health at Mount Sinai Health Organization in New York, said it should serve as a wake-up call.
He said: “The results of our study should serve as a warning to women around the world about the potential harmful effects of PFAS when they plan to become pregnant. We can reduce our exposure to PFAS by avoiding foods associated with higher levels of these chemicals and by purchasing foods. which do not contain PFAS”.
A colleague in the study, Dr. Damaschini Valve, said their study was one of the first to suggest chemicals could harm healthy women’s fertility.
She said: “PFAS can disrupt our reproductive hormones and has been associated with delayed onset of puberty and increased risk of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome in several previous studies. Our study adds that PFAS may also reduce fertility in otherwise healthy women who are trying to conceive.” child naturally.
She added that it is also important that the authorities adopt a policy to ban the use of PFAS in consumer products.
PFAS is found in a wide range of everyday items, from non-stick cookware, clothing, food packaging, carpets, paints and toiletries. Chemicals designed to make surfaces stain and water resistant do not naturally degrade in the environment, hence their name “timeless chemicals”.
In their study, American and Singaporean researchers analyzed blood samples taken from 1,032 women. They were trying to conceive and had an average age of 30, with samples taken between 2015 and 2017.
The researchers analyzed the samples for 15 specific types of PFAS and then followed each woman for at least a year to see if she had a successful pregnancy.
The researchers found that higher exposure to PFAS was associated with lower chances of conceiving a child.
This is true both for individual types of PFAS and for a combination of their effects.
They found that an effective combination of PFAS was associated with a 40% reduction in the chance of having a pregnancy within a year, as well as a live birth.
However, they note that they have not been able to prove that PFAS is behind the connection.
For example, the experiment was not designed in such a way that toxic chemicals could cause it.
And they weren’t able to pinpoint the specific mechanism by which PFAS could reduce participants’ fertility, such as through adverse effects on hormones.
The experts also cautioned that they were only studying the effects of PFAS, and the researchers noted that some new chemicals are currently being added to foods that are worth exploring.
Finally, the scientists said they were unable to explain male infertility and PFAS exposure in their study because only women were included in their analysis.
Research has also shown that PFAS damages the immune system and increases the risk of birth defects. There are about 5000 different chemicals.
PFAS is different from another group of common chemicals called phthalates, which are used to improve the durability of plastics and can be found in floors and in products such as shampoo, soap and hairspray.
Like PFAS, exposure to phthalates in everyday life also causes health problems, with cancer, asthma, ADHD, and obesity associated with the use of these substances.
Source: Daily Mail
