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Chemical exposure before, after birth reduces lung function
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Prenatal and postnatal exposure to parabens, phthalates and perfluoroalkyl substances may reduce lung function in children, researchers said.
“These are chemicals commonly used in the production of plastics, solvents and personal care products,” Martine Vrijheid, PhD, a research professor at ISGlobal, told Infectious Diseases in Children. “The effects we observed on lung function were small, though, and should be tested in larger studies.”
The researchers analyzed data from the European Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) cohort study, which included mother and child pairs in France, Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. All children were born between 2003 and 2009. More than 1,000 pairs from the HELIX project were included in the study.
Vrijheid and colleagues measured 85 types prenatal exposures and 125 postnatal exposures related to outdoor, indoor, chemical and lifestyle factors. Children’s lung function was measured by spirometry at ages 6 to 12 years.
They found that children who were prenatally exposed to two types of perfluoroalkyl substances — perfluorononanoate (P = .034) and perfluorooctanoate (P = .030) — had decreased lung function.
Vrijheid and colleagues identified nine postnatal exposures that were linked to decreased lung function, including copper (P = .041), ethyl-paraben (P = .029), five different phthalate metabolites, house crowding (P = .015) and facility density around schools (P = .027).
“The main way to reduce exposure is through stricter regulation of these chemicals,” Vrijheid said. “In the meantime, better labeling of consumer products may help the public to avoid these chemicals.” – by Katherine Bortz
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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