Pthalates in plastic products hinders sex development in male foetus: study

New research regarding phthalates, a known hormone disruptor present in hundreds of plasticised consumer products, had added to the growing scientific consensus of the public health danger they posed.

Phthalates,used to soften and increase the flexibility of plastic and vinyl, are a family of chemicals used in plastics and many other products.

On analysing data collected from 362 women, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health found that in pregnant women higher levels of the hormone hCG, which was targeted by phthalates, was correlated with an abnormality in anogenital distance in male babies with the higher hCG in the mother's blood, shortening the distance between the anus and the scrotum in the male infants.

Short anogenital distance was also strongly associated with lower sperm count in males.

"Our study is the first to show that hCG is a target of phthalate exposure in early pregnancy and to confirm previous findings that it is a critical hormone in male development," epidemiologist Jennifer Adibi told the Endocrine Society Thursday at its annual meeting in San Diego.

A 2008 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics pointed out that infants exposed to products like baby shampoos, baby lotions, and baby powder, showed higher than normal levels of phthalates in their urine. Since they were known to disrupt hormones, several of the products were severely restricted by the US Congress.

"The placenta, which is an extension of the foetus and a target of the chemicals in our bodies, broadcasts information early in pregnancy, through hCG, about what might be occurring to the fetus (from) chemical exposure," Adibi said.

Phthalates could also block testosterone, an essential hormone in human males, researchers uncovered.