Household dust, BMI, may be linked

NEW ORLEANS — The presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in household dust promoted the development of fat cells in a cell model, researchers reported at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting.

Researchers collected and analyzed 194 house dust samples from households in central North Carolina from 2014 to 2016. About 200 children were living in those homes.

“We found that two-thirds of dust extracts were able to promote fat cell development and half promote precursor fat cell proliferation at 100 g, or approximately 1,000 times lower levels than what children consume on a daily basis,” Christopher D. Kassotis, PhD, postdoctoral research associate at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, said in a press release.

Several of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals that were studied in this analysis were significantly elevated in the dust of homes of children who were overweight or obese, according to Kassoti.

More Healio coverage of his study can be found by clicking here. – by Janel Miller and Katie Kalvaitis

References:

Kassotis C, et al. MON-030: Non-target assessment of contributory chemicals and in vitro assessment of molecular mechanisms of indoor house dust extract-induced adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. Presented at: The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting; March 23-26, 2019; New Orleans.

Kassotis CD, et al. Sci Total Environ. 2019;doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.273.

Disclosure: Kassotis reports no relevant financial disclosures.