Chemicals Used in Personal Products Linked to Infertility
Chemicals commonly used in personal care products, textiles (including clothing), and in a variety of other products including non-stick cookware and stain resistant carpeting are associated with a decreased capacity to have children. This finding, reported in the journal Human Reproduction this week, was reported by researchers in the United States and Denmark who examined the association between common chemicals (perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) – chemicals that belong to a class of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs)) in a sample of 1240 pregnant Danish women.
The investigators found that increased PFOA and PFOS levels were associated with irregular menstrual periods and longer time to pregnancy intervals. When risks were examined by high to lowest exposure categories, the researchers found that the risk of infertility increased by 60 to 154% for women in the higher categories of PFOA exposure compared to the lowest category of exposure and increased by 70 to 134% for women in the higher categories of PFOS compared to the lowest category.
PFOA, PFOS and other PFCs are commonly used in products due in part to their ability to repel water and oil. As such they are commonly used to make items stain resistant and are used in the manufacture of non-stick cookware. They are also used in packaging food and other products where they are used as a coating on the inside of containers to prevent substances from soaking through.
PFOA, PFOS and other PFCs are not easily cleared from the body – in part because of their resistence to water and oil. The half-life of PFCs in the body (the amount of time it takes to clear half of the amount in your body from your body) has been estimated to be several years. These chemicals also get deposited in the environment and in non-human animals. PFOS has been detected in animals all over the world including polar bears in the arctic and eagles in the mid-Pacific region of the United States. The persistence of PFCs in the human body has been implicated as a reason for many of the other health effects found in humans including toxicity of the liver (hepatotoxicity) and thyroid dysfunction.
Individuals can reduce their exposure to PFOA, PFOS, and other PFCs by switching from non-stick pans to cast iron or stainless steel pans, reducing thier use of stain resistent goods – especially carpeting and furniture, and avoiding personal care products such as shampoos, lotions, conditioners, and cosmetics with the phrase “fluro” or “perfluoro” in the list of ingredients.