Chemical toxins are everywhere: in our water, food, air, and soil. Exposure to these toxins during pregnancy can cause serious health problems in primary school children that can affect their lives for years to come, a new study finds.
Children born to European mothers exposed to four chemicals that disrupt the body's endocrine (hormonal) system had elevated levels of metabolic syndrome at age 6 to 11. Metabolic syndrome includes obesity, elevated blood pressure, abnormally high cholesterol 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 Gil-Oumwright, an Icahn Fulbright scholar and professor at Mount Sinai in New York City.
“Furthermore, blood insulin and triglyceride levels, as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, were significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group,” Gil Oumwright said in an email. “In contrast, HDL cholesterol levels were lower in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group.” HDL cholesterol is considered a “good” blood fat because it helps cleanse the arteries.
Metabolic syndrome is commonly associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke in adults, but the childhood obesity epidemic means that children are becoming symptomatic at younger and younger ages. Experts say having metabolic syndrome in childhood is likely a sign of chronic illness in adulthood.
“This study stands out as one of the most comprehensive efforts to delve into the early childhood environmental origins of metabolic risk, and adds to the existing toxicological and epidemiological evidence in this field.” , Vicente Mustirez, Mariana Fernández and Carmen Messellian said in an editorial published in the newspaper. The study was published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Mr. Moustiers and Mr. Fernández are researchers at the Biomedical Research Center of the University of Granada in Spain. Messelian is an assistant professor of environmental reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
CNN reached out to the International Council of Chemical Societies for comment, but did not receive a response before publication. However, a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council issued the following statement:
“We will review the details of this research once it is published. ACC members are committed to their responsibility to produce chemicals that offer important safety, product performance, and durability benefits and are safe to use. We take it seriously. Our members conduct extensive scientific analysis to assess the potential risks of chemicals, from development to use and safe disposal.”
The dangers of endocrine disrupting chemicals
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 pollutants that have “the ability to cross the blood-placental barrier and interfere with 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; and plasticizers such as phthalates and phenols. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are present in surface and groundwater around the world at levels far above those allowed by many international regulations.
PFAS are called “eternal chemicals” because they do not completely decompose in the environment, and have been used since the 1950s to make consumer products non-stick, oil and water repellent, and resistant to temperature changes. According to the EPA, some of the most studied PFAS, including PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid), are linked to cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, reduced fertility, and liver cancer. It is associated with serious health problems such as disorders, hormonal abnormalities, etc.
Toxic heavy metals found in soil and water include lead and arsenic, and studies have found alarming levels in manufactured baby food. Experts say there is no safe level of lead, and 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 drop in IQ in children aged 5 to 15.
Flame retardants have been shown to increase cancer risk by 300%. According to an August 2020 study, these chemical toxins are the number one cause of intellectual disability in children worldwide, accounting for a total loss of 162 million IQ points and more than 738,000 cases of intellectual disability. is causing it.
Phthalates, found in hundreds of consumer products such as food storage containers, shampoo, cosmetics, perfumes and children's toys, have been linked to premature death in people aged 55 to 64 in the United States. Previous studies have linked phthalates to reproductive problems, including genital malformations and undescended testicles in boys, and lower sperm counts and testosterone levels in adult men. Studies have 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.
People are exposed to various chemicals every day
Chemicals have various effects on the body. For example, certain PFAS compounds tend to accumulate in the liver, causing fatty liver disease and high cholesterol. And flame retardants and other chemicals can accumulate in body fat and contribute to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes, the editorial says.
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.
The study is one of the first to achieve this goal by focusing on metabolic syndrome, which combines measurements of blood sugar levels, lipids such as cholesterol, the presence of adipose tissue, and effects on the heart, the editorial says. states.
“Most of the time, we think about the health risks of chemicals one at a time, as if we were being exposed to one chemical at a time,” he says. Jane Houlihan, national science and health director for Healthy Babies Bright Futures, a coalition of dedicated advocacy groups.
“Here, the research team shows 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.
In 2019, Healthy Babies Bright Futures released a report that found that 95 percent of baby food randomly removed from supermarket shelves contained toxic metals, which is expected to increase by 2024. This led to the introduction of the Baby Food Safety Act. The Drug Administration would set stricter standards and allow the FDA to monitor these standards through access to food supplier and manufacturer records.
“Given the rapid rise in metabolic syndrome in the United States, health officials and companies should do everything in their power to strengthen safety standards and remove these chemicals from commercial and everyday products,” Houlihan said.
How to limit exposure
While there are ways to minimize exposure to plastics and other toxins, Houlihan said this is especially important during pregnancy and childhood because the developing fetus and small body are more susceptible to damage.
He said to reduce the amount of rice consumed by infants and children and to always wash the grain thoroughly before use, as up to 60 percent of the arsenic is removed. Limit your juice intake, carefully wash and peel vegetables and fruits, and buy organic if possible.
Stay away from stain-resistant carpets and upholstery and avoid using 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 your drinking water, consider purchasing the most effective reverse osmosis filters, says EWG. The NSF (formerly known as the National Sanitation Foundation) has a list of recommended filters.
But tap water is often a better choice than bottled water, which is packed with nanoplastics that can invade 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,” Güil-Umreit suggested.
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.
