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Current query:Type: Scientific Studies
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Arsenic carried to rice fields by contaminated irrigation water tends to accumulate in top soil layers where the rice takes it up, contaminating the grain, lowering its nutritional value and exposing large populations who depend on it for food.
Rice is one of the largest sources of arsenic exposure for people in Bangladesh and India, representing about half the total intake 12 July 2010. More...
Reproductive problems leading to infertility were seen in female fish exposed to pthalates at levels generally found in the environment.
The results are some of the first to show the plasticizers can affect females as well as males, report researchers in the online journal PLoSOne. This preliminary evidence of the effects of DEHP on the female reproductive system suggests that further study on females is warranted in other species, including humans. 28 June 2010. More...
Rats exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) early in life develop symptoms resembling polycystic ovarian syndrome, a leading cause of infertility in women.
This animal study is among the first to show that early exposure to BPA can cause symptoms similar to PCOS in adulthood. The levels of BPA used in the experiments were high compared to current estimates of human exposure. 15 June 2010. More...
Two new studies - one human and one rat - show that active BPA and its inactive metabolite freely cross the placenta from a pregnant mother to the fetus.
Even more important are the chemical transformations that occur in the fetus: the active form of BPA remains active while the inactive form can be converted to the active form. Together, these studies provide evidence that prebirth exposures occur in people and may pose a bigger risk to the developing fetus than previously thought. 7 June 2010. More...
PBDEs -- chemicals widely used to prevent fires in household products like furniture and electronics -- may contribute to fertility problems by lengthening the time it takes for a woman to get pregnant, according to a study of low-income, mostly Mexican-American women living in California.
The study is one of the first to examine if PBDEs can affect human fertility. Animal studies show that PBDEs can alter behavior, delay the onset of puberty and impact sex hormones and thyroid hormones. These, in turn, may influence ovulation, menstrual cycle regularity and fertility. 3 June 2010. More...
Newborn mice fed genistein-enriched soy formula during the first five days of life developed abnormalities of the ovary, uterus and thymus gland that were estrogen related and persisted into adulthood.
As adults, the mice had fewer reproductive cycles in a month than the untreated mice. The findings show that eating genistein right after birth causes short and long-term changes and raises concerns for health effects on human infants fed soy-based formula during their early months. 2 June 2010. More...
A new study finds associations between exposure to bisphenol A and blood levels of thyroid and reproductive hormones.
Researchers found that men with higher urine BPA concentrations had higher blood levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and lower levels of inhibin B. Elevated FSH and depressed inhibin B have been associated with poorer sperm quality in humans. 5 May 2010. More...
Scientists have figured out how bisphenol A (BPA) alters an important gene that guides how the uterus develops in people and rodents. Rather than causing mutations, the chemical affects the gene's on/off markers - what is called an epigenetic change.
BPA-exposed female mice had 25 percent higher activity from the Hoxa10 gene in their reproductive tract than the unexposed mice. The changes remained even after exposure stopped, suggesting they are permanent. 14 April 2010. More...
In the first study to examine the relationship between dioxin and likelihood of conception, researchers report that higher dioxin levels are associated with difficulty in conceiving and higher rates of infertility.
Having high levels of TCDD doubled a woman's chances of taking more than 12 months to conceive. The results come from long-term research on the effects of dioxin exposure caused by an explosion of a chemical plant in Seveso, Italy, in 1976. 9 April 2010. More...
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) rubbed onto mouse skin changed the chemistry of the rodents' immune system and made them more prone to developing contact allergies, reports a new study published in the scientific journal Immunology.
This is the first study to show how DBP modifies the mouse immune system to predispose it to developing a type of allergy known as contact hypersensitivity. The results support prior studies that have found a connection between phthalates and allergies. 4 March 2010. More...
Men who are exposed to benzene at levels close to the U.S. permissible limit are more likely to have an abnormal number of chromosomes in their sperm, according to new research.
Having the wrong number of chromosomes in sperm or eggs is the largest known source of miscarriage in people. 16 February 2010. More...
New research suggests that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation and lactation lowers male fertility in adulthood and that the effect may persist for at least three generations.
The rat study tested relatively low levels of BPA chosen to fall within the range of human exposure. It is the first to indicate that BPA might have transgenerational effects on male reproductive health. 9 February 2010. More...
As one class of flame retardants is phased out due to health concerns, new types – sometimes with widespread exposure and unknown effects – may be phased in.
A new study examining one type of potential replacement chemicals called organophosphorous flame retardants finds that men exposed through house dust had lower thyroid hormone levels and reduced sperm concentration. This is one of the first human studies to look at potential health effects of exposure to these types of flame retardants. 5 February 2010. More...
Exposure to very low concentrations of the plastic monomer bisphenol A (BPA) causes cellular damage and death in cultured human placenta cells, researchers report.
The doses used for this study are similar to blood levels found in pregnant women. Particularly concerning was the observation that that effects were most pronounced at the lowest - rather than the highest - concentrations of BPA. 2 February 2010. More...
Women who were fed soy-based infant formula as babies are 25 percent more likely to develop uterine fibroids than those who were breastfed or given milk-based formula.
Fibroids affect about a quarter of all women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy. This is the first study to examine whether exposure to soy estrogens early in life is associated with fibroids development later in life. 1 February 2010. More...
Exposure during development to the active ingredient of many birth control pills caused infertility in adult male rates.
More than 50 million women worldwide take contraceptive pills. Of those, 3 to 4 percent may take them into the second trimester of pregnancy. Doses sufficient to cause effects were higher compared to birth control pills. 15 January 2010. More...
A study from California suggests that living closer to high traffic roads may increase the risk of spontaneous abortion in certain women. The association was seen only with African-Americans, not with women of other races.
Increased risk of spontaneous abortion was seen among African-American women living close to roads where traffic exceeded 15,000 vehicles per day. Many large city streets have a daily traffic volume of 15,000 cars or more. 18 December 2009. More...
A study that surveyed members of a West Virginia community finds that higher exposures to anti-stick chemicals released from a nearby factory may be linked to low birth weight and early birth in babies born to women who live in the area.
Data were collected as part of a survey of more than 69,000 people living close to a chemical plant located in the Mid-Ohio Valley in West Virginia. 7 December 2009. More...
Exposure to the common herbicide atrazine rapidly induces the release of stress hormones in rats, which may explain how the weed killer produces some its harmful reproductive effects.
Elevated stress hormones can disrupt the hormone signals that spur ovulation. Atrazine is one of the most frequently used herbicides in the US. 4 December 2009. More...
Household dust is an important source of exposure to a lesser known – but ubiquitous and potentially toxic – flame retardant, reports a study from Belgium.
This study is the first to examine the relationship between dust, diet and serum concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs). Results are consistent with studies of other better known flame retardants, indicating that indoor sources may contribute most of human exposure to these chemicals. 8 September 2009. More...
New experiments with combinations of contaminants shows that mixtures can cause harm even when the level of each chemical in the mixture would cause no effect by itself.
Because people are exposed to hundreds of chemicals at a time--or more--these results indicate that setting safety standards based on the action of individual chemicals will not be sufficient to protect human health. 1 September 2009. More...
The common and highly-used herbicide atrazine can act within the brain to disrupt the cascade of hormone signals needed to initiate ovulation, finds a new study.
The results shed new light on the way atrazine affects the female reproductive system and the persistence of these effects when adults are exposed. 20 August 2009. More...
Sperm counts are lower in mice whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to a mixture of particles found in diesel exhaust.
The results add to a small but growing series of studies that suggest exposure to diesel exhaust can disrupt the proper development of the testis in rats and mice and perhaps affect reproduction. 14 August 2009. More...
A recent study links higher blood lead levels with high blood pressure in pregnant women, suggesting that lead exposure may increase the risk of developing hypertension during pregnancy.
All of the women in the study had blood levels below the level considered 'acceptable' by most health agencies, providing additional support for the need to lower the threshold. 10 August 2009. More...
A new study in Mexico finds that women with higher exposure to phthalates during their third trimester of pregnancy were up to four times as likely to have their babies early.
This is the first human study to investigate associations between exposure to phthalates and preterm birth rates. Early births are of concern because they are associated with long-term health problems and are the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the United States, accounting for more than one third of infant deaths. 3 August 2009. More...
Fish produced fewer – or no eggs at all – after only one to two weeks of exposure to either of two different types of synthetic progestin hormones found in women's birth control and menopausal drugs.
The more potent of the pair of progestins also lowered sperm production and affected behavior in male fish. Effects occurred at levels found in the environment in sewage effluents. 30 July 2009. More...
Women who are having difficulty conceiving may want to cut back on their soy consumption after a mouse study reveals that dietary exposure to genistein, a compound found in soy foods, can reduce the odds of a successful pregnancy in multiple ways.
The results reveal how natural compounds like genistein may have both risks – it can act as an endocrine disurptor to affect female reproduction – and benefits - such as protecting the heart. 28 July 2009. More...
Male rats reach puberty later and have skewed hormone levels after exposure to high concentrations of DEHP, a phthalate.
The researchers tested a wide range of DEHP levels in two different strains of rats and compared when the animals from the differen test groups hit puberty. The doses used – 10, 100, 300 and 900 milligrams per kilogram of rat body weight – are much higher than levels measured in people. 21 July 2009. More...
Scorpion venom can change the way rats grow and develop if they are exposed to the neurotoxins before birth.
Scorpion stings are a public health problem in Brazil. This is one of a few studies to date to examine if scorpion venom poses a unique threat to developing offspring. The study clearly shows that baby rats are developmentally altered in many ways if their moms are "stung" while pregnant. 15 July 2009. More...
A new study adds to the growing literature suggesting that chemical exposure may affect male fertility.
Men exposed to higher levels of contaminants produced by burning a range of substances, including coal, oil, gas and wood had an increased risk of infertility, according to results from a study conducted in China. 29 May 2009. More...
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