Phthalates Affect Way Young Boys Play. Boys With High Phthalate Exposure in Womb Show Less Masculine Play.
Done Being Politically Correct
play
Nov. 16, 2009 -- Mothers exposed to high levels of chemicals known as
phthalates during pregnancy may have boys who are less likely to play
with trucks and other male-typical toys or to play fight, according to a
new study.
Phthalates, common in the environment, are found in toys, food
packaging, personal care products, nail polish, adhesives, and other
products.
In the study, the researchers focused on two phthalates of concern to
environmental experts, DEHP and DBP. They tested the urine of women
during the 28th week of pregnancy and divided them into four groups
depending on the concentration of phthalate metabolites or breakdown
products. Then they assessed the play behavior of the 145 children when
they reached age 3 to 6.
If mothers were in the highest concentration group, the chance that
their boys had a less masculine score was five times greater than
mothers in the lowest concentration group, according to study researcher
Shanna Swan, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the
University of Rochester Medical Center's Center for Reproductive
Epidemiology and an expert on phthalates.
''I'm not saying these boys are feminized," Swan tells WebMD. Rather,
she says, ''they are less likely to play in a male-typical manner." No
effect was found with the girls.
Swan and other experts suspect that exposure to the chemicals affects
the level of testosterone crucial for the development not only of male
reproductive organs, but also the masculine brain. ''We now suspect that
the phthalate [exposure] affects the entire body, not just the
reproductive tract,'' Swan says.
The study is published in the International Journal of Andrology.
Exposure to Phthalates
Swan and her colleagues tested urine samples of 74 pregnant women who
gave birth to boys and 71 who gave birth to girls, looking for nine
different phthalates. The women were part of The Study for Future
Families, an ongoing study.
When the children were ages 3.6 to 6.4 years, Swan's team asked the
mothers to answer questions about their children's play behavior.
Parents described the type of toys and play their children favored, and
each child was given a score reflecting masculine-typical play or
feminine-typical play.
Exposure to two of the nine phthalates, DEHP and DBP, was associated
with less masculine play behavior, the researchers found.
For example, Swan says, ''If the mother's MEHHP concentration [one of
the phthalate metabolites] was high, in the upper quartile, the odds
that her boy had a score that was less masculine [in play behavior] was
five times greater than mothers whose MEHHP was in the lowest quartile."
Exposure to phthalates may lower testosterone production in the fetus
during a crucial period of development, at about 8 to 24 weeks'
gestation, Swan says, when the testes begin to function, and in doing so
alter sexual differentiation in the brain.
The study results should be a wake-up call about the potential dangers
of phthalate exposures, according to Sarah Janssen, MD, PhD, MPH, staff
scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who reviewed the
study results for WebMD.
''This study by itself shouldn't make parents panic, but I do think we
are beginning to accumulate more and more evidence that exposure to
phthalates, especially during pregnancy, can be harmful for the
development of baby boys," she says.
Janssen cites animal studies, finding that exposure to the chemicals can
cause a wide range of male reproductive harm, including undescended
testicles, birth defects of the genitals, and infertility later in life.
"What this study adds is, we know testosterone and estrogen are also
very important for the development of the brain and sexual
differentiation of the brain,'' she says. The new study suggests that
interfering with testosterone levels during critical periods of
development can affect later behavior, she says. Advice for Moms-to-Be
Limiting exposure to the chemicals is best, say Swan and Janssen,
although the chemicals are ubiquitous.
Under a federal law passed in 2008, the Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act, six phthalates are now banned from use in toys such as
bath toys, dolls, and teethers. Some products carry a "No phthalates"
label.
One way to avoid exposure, Janssen says, is to avoid heavily fragranced
shampoos and lotions as well as air fresheners.
What's needed next, according to Janssen, is more attention on limiting
exposure to the chemicals to women who are pregnant or those of
childbearing age.
Swan's study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the
Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of Iowa.
Since this chemical primarily affects liberal men, modify it to shrink
their brains just a tiny bit smaller, so they will be good obedient
servants for the queers and Obamacists.