Exposure to chemicals found in a wide array of personal care products
including shampoo and beauty makeup products have been linked to early
puberty among girls.
These are the findings of a new study published in the December 4
issue of the journal ‘Human Reproduction’. Puberty is the time in life
when a boy or girl becomes sexually mature. It is a process that usually
happens between ages 10 and 14 for girls and ages 12 and 16 for boys.
It causes physical changes, and affects boys and girls differently.
The study which centers on specific chemicals, include phthalates,
parabens and phenols, which are found in an array of products, including
perfumes, soaps, shampoos, nail polish, cosmetics, toothpaste,
lipstick, hairsprays, skin lotions, among others.
According to the study author Kim Harley who is Associate Director of
the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the
University of California, Berkeley in the United States (US), these
chemicals “get into our bodies either by absorption through the skin, by
being inhaled, or being ingested [like lipstick].” “Once they are in
the body, they are quite quickly metabolised and [then] excreted in
urine.”
As to how routine exposure to the chemicals might affect puberty, she
said they’ve “been shown to mimic estrogen in certain laboratory
conditions.” The team found that “the higher the levels of the chemicals
in mothers’ or daughters’ bodies, the earlier the puberty” among girls.
No such link was found for the timing of male puberty, however. Harley
said, “We were a little surprised that the associations were only with
girls and we didn’t see much with boys. “But since these tend to be
estrogenic chemicals, it makes sense that they might impact girls.”
The researchers’ analyzed data collected in a study that enrolled
pregnant women between 1999 and 2000. The women had blood tests twice
throughout their pregnancy, and interviews were also conducted to gauge
exposure to the chemicals in question.
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