One longitudinal study recently conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, in the journal Human Reproduction, collects data--collected as part of the study centre for maternal and child health assessment (CHAMACOS)-Salinas-338 children from before birth to teenagers, and associate it with a variety of documents about the early environmental exposure that affect child development.
Puberty Causes The Sooner It Arrives
Researchers at the School of Public Health found that daughters of mothers who have levels of diethyl phthalate and higher triclosan in their body during pregnancy, experiencing puberty at a younger age. The same trend was not observed in boys.
Diethyl phthalate is often used as a stabilizer in perfumery and cosmetics. Antimicrobial agents-triclosan banned by the FDA from using hand SOAP in 2017 because of the proven not effective-is still used in some toothpaste.
"We know that some of the things we put in our body goes into the body, either because they pass through the skin or menghirupnya us or we accidentally swallowing, " said Kim Harley, "we need to know how these chemicals affect our health. "
The researchers suspect that a lot of chemicals in personal care products can interfere with natural hormones in our body. Various studies have shown that exposure to these chemicals can alter reproductive development in mice. Chemicals involved include phthalates, which are often found in products such as scented perfume, SOAP, and shampoo; Parabens, which are used as preservatives in cosmetics; and phenol, which include triclosan.
However, few studies have looked at how these chemicals can affect the growth of a human child. "We want to know what the influence of exposure to these chemicals during certain critical developments that include before birth and during puberty, " said Harley.
The study CHAMACOS recruited pregnant women who live on the farm, especially the Latin communities in the Valley of Salinas, California, halfway between the years 1999 and 2000. While the main purpose of this research is to examine the impact of pesticide exposure on children, but the researchers used the opportunity of the fig to examine the effects of other chemicals too.
The team measured the concentration of phthalates, Parabens, and phenol in the urine samples taken from the mother twice during pregnancy and of children at the age of 9 years. They then follow the growth of children-159 boys and 179 girls-between the ages of 9 and 13 years for initial development time tracking that mark different stages of puberty.
The majority-more than 90 percent of urine samples-mother and son shows a concentration that can be detected from all three classes of chemicals, with the exception of triclosan contained in about 70 percent of the sample.
The researchers found that every time the concentrations of diethyl phthalate and triclosan in the urine of mother doubling, time the milestone development in girls shifted about a month earlier. Girls that have higher concentrations of parabens in their urine at the age of 9 also experience puberty at a younger age. However, it is not clear whether the chemicals that cause changes, or whether the girls who reach puberty early tend to start using personal care products at a younger age, said Harley.
"While further research is required, one should be aware that there are chemicals in personal care products that can disrupt hormones in our bodies, " said Harley.
Consumers are a worrisome chemicals in personal care products can take practical steps to limit his speech he, said Harley.
"There has been an increase in awareness of chemicals in personal care products and consumer demand for products with levels of chemicals are lower, " said Harley. "Resources such as Skin Deep database of the environmental working group or the application Think Dirty smart consumers can help reduce exposure to them."