Get inspired by our weekly roundup of tips for simply living a fulfilling life. Subscribe to CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools to improve your health.
CNN —
Chemical toxins are everywhere: in our water, food, air, and soil. A new study finds that exposure to these toxins during pregnancy can cause serious health problems in elementary school-age children that can affect their lives for years to come.
Children born to European mothers exposed to four chemicals that disrupt the body's endocrine (hormonal) system had elevated levels of metabolic syndrome between the ages of 6 and 11. Metabolic syndrome includes obesity, high blood pressure, abnormally high cholesterol levels and insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
In the group of children exposed to the highest levels of the chemicals, 62 percent were overweight or obese, compared with 16 percent of those in the low-risk group, said lead author Nuria Guillé Oumlait, a Fulbright scholar at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
“Moreover, blood insulin and triglyceride levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group,” Guill-Oumlait said in an email. “In contrast, HDL cholesterol levels in the high-risk group were lower than in the low-risk group.” HDL cholesterol is considered a “good” blood fat because it helps clean arteries.
Metabolic syndrome is commonly associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke in adults, but the childhood obesity epidemic is causing symptoms to appear at younger and younger ages. Experts say having metabolic syndrome in childhood is a more likely sign of chronic disease in adulthood.
“This study stands out as one of the most comprehensive efforts to delve into the environmental origins of early life metabolic risk and adds to the existing toxicological and epidemiological evidence in this field,” Vicente Mustirez, Mariana Fernández and Carmen Messerlian wrote in an editorial about the study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Mustiers and Fernández are researchers at the Center for Biomedical Research at the University of Granada in Spain. Messerlien is an assistant professor of environmental reproductive, perinatal and pediatric epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
The International Council of Chemical Associations did not respond to CNN's request for comment before publication, but a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council provided the following statement:
“We will review this study in more detail as it becomes available. ACC members take seriously their responsibility to produce chemicals that offer important safety, product performance and durability benefits and are safe to use. Members conduct extensive scientific analysis to evaluate the potential risks of chemicals from development through use to safe disposal.”
The team that led the new study tested the blood and urine of 1,134 mothers during pregnancy, then repeated the tests on their children between the ages of 6 and 11. The tests looked for a mixture of nine chemical classes of endocrine-disrupting chemicals commonly found in the environment.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals are environmental contaminants that have the “ability to cross the blood-placental barrier and disrupt human metabolism and hormonal balance,” the study said.
These and other chemicals “transplacental and breastfeeding routes accumulate in the blood, tissues, and organs of the fetus and infant in a never-ending cycle,” Mustiellis, Fernandez, and Messerlian write.
The study tested for pesticides, heavy metals, flame retardants, plasticizers such as phthalates and phenols, and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds) in surface and groundwater around the world at concentrations far above levels tolerated by many international regulatory agencies.
Dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not completely break down in the environment, PFAS have been used since the 1950s in consumer products to make them non-stick, oil- and water-repellent, and resistant to temperature changes. According to the EPA, some of the most studied PFAS, such as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate), have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, reduced fertility, liver damage, and hormone abnormalities.
Toxic heavy metals in soil and water include lead and arsenic, and studies have found dangerous levels in commercial baby foods. While there is no safe level of lead, experts say that even relatively low doses of arsenic, mercury and other heavy metals can harm the body and brain.
A December 2014 meta-analysis of arsenic studies found that a 50% increase in urinary arsenic levels was associated with a 0.4 point reduction in IQ in children ages 5 to 15.
Flame retardants have been linked to a 300% increased risk of cancer. According to an August 2020 study, these chemical toxins are the leading cause of intellectual disability in children worldwide, causing a combined loss of 162 million IQ points and more than 738,000 cases of intellectual disability.
Phthalates, found in hundreds of consumer products including food storage containers, shampoos, cosmetics, perfumes and children's toys, have been linked to premature death among Americans aged 55 to 64. Previous studies have linked phthalates to reproductive problems, including genital deformities and undescended testes in boys, and lower sperm counts and testosterone levels in adult men. Research has also linked phthalates to childhood obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Phthalates were the only chemical group in the study that was associated with a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome. All other chemical groups increased the risk.
kjekol/iStockphoto/Getty Images
Pregnancy and early childhood are especially important times to limit chemical exposure, as the brain and body are undergoing critical development.
The chemicals affect the body in a variety of ways. For example, certain PFAS compounds tend to accumulate in the liver, contributing to fatty liver and high cholesterol. And, according to the editorial, flame retardants and other chemicals can accumulate in body fat, potentially contributing to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Because people are exposed to many different types of potentially toxic substances every day, designing studies that can capture the cumulative effects on different parts of the body can provide a more realistic picture of potential health effects.
By focusing on the metabolic syndrome, which combines measurements of blood glucose levels, lipids such as cholesterol, the presence of adipose tissue, and its effects on the heart, the editorial says the current study is one of the first to achieve this goal.
“Most of the time, we think about the health risks of chemicals one at a time, as if we're being exposed to one chemical at a time,” says Jane Houlihan, national science and health director for Healthy Babies Bright Futures, a coalition of advocacy groups dedicated to reducing infant exposure to neurotoxic chemicals.
“Our results show that children's future risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes may be caused by a complex mixture of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the body at any one time, highlighting the particular risks of chemical exposures during pregnancy,” she said.
Healthy Babies Bright Futures released a report in 2019 that found toxic metals in 95% of baby foods randomly removed from supermarket shelves, which led to the introduction of the Baby Food Safety Act of 2024. The bill would set stricter standards for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and give the FDA access to food supplier and manufacturer records to monitor those standards.
“Given the sharp increase in metabolic syndrome in the United States, health officials and companies should do everything in their power to strengthen safety standards and eliminate these chemicals from commerce and everyday products,” Houlihan said.
There are ways to minimize exposure to plastic and other toxins, Houlihan said, but this is especially important during pregnancy and childhood, when a developing fetus's tiny body is more vulnerable to damage.
Reduce the amount of rice your infants and young children eat, and always rinse rice thoroughly before serving – this can remove up to 60 percent of the arsenic, she said. Limit juice intake, make sure vegetables and fruits are thoroughly washed and peeled, and buy organic when possible.
Do not use stain-resistant carpets or upholstery, and do not use waterproofing sprays.
Check your area for information about levels of PFAS and other chemicals in your drinking water. The Environmental Working Group, an environmental advocacy group, has created a national drinking water database that is searchable by zip code. The database lists PFAS and other chemicals of concern and also includes a national map showing where PFAS have been found in the US.
If you're concerned about the quality of your drinking water, consider purchasing a reverse osmosis filter, which is the most effective, says EWG, and the NSF (formerly the National Sanitation Foundation) has a list of recommended filters.
But tap water is often a better choice than bottled water filled with nanoplastics, which can enter cells and tissues and leach toxic chemicals into the body.
One easy change you can make at home is to use glass or ceramic containers instead of plastic ones when heating food. If possible, cook in ceramic, cast iron, or stainless steel pots and avoid using cookware that has been chemically treated to prevent food from sticking. Another good option is to use stainless steel or glass bottles instead of plastic containers.
“Choose cosmetics that are free of endocrine disruptors such as parabens, benzophenones, triclosan and phthalates,” suggested Guill-Umreit.
The same goes for food, sunscreen, household cleaners, and other everyday products packaged in plastic. EWG has several consumer databases that provide links to consumer products with fewer chemicals, including food scores, personal care products, sunscreen recommendations, and healthy living apps.
