Study softeners decrease the intelligence

Intuitivity quotient of children affected by prenatal phthalate burden

12/11/2014

If unborn children are exposed to elevated concentrations of certain plasticisers (phthalates) during pregnancy, their intelligence will be permanently impaired. This is the conclusion of a recent study by researchers from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York.

For the first time was with the current study „Relationship between prenatal exposure to phthalates and IQ in school age children“ stated the message of the Mailman School of Public Health. Unborn infants exposed di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP) to elevated levels of plasticizer during pregnancy had an average of six points lower intelligence quotient (IQ) than non-pruritized children, the US researchers report.

Pregnant women insufficiently protected from plasticizers
„DnBP and DiBP are included in a variety of consumer products such as plastics or personal care products (such as lipstick, hair spray, nail polish and even some soaps)“, explain the scientists of the Mailman School of Public Health. Although the plasticizers in the US have been banned since 2009 in children's toys and other baby products. „However, no steps have been taken to protect the developing fetus from potential risks by alerting pregnant women“, so the critics of the researchers. To date, in the US, phthalates are rarely listed as ingredients on products in which they are used. Many pregnant women expose their unborn child - without knowing it - to a possible risk. „Pregnant women in the United States are exposed to phthalates almost daily, many at a level associated with a significant reduction in childhood IQ in the study“, explains study author Prof. Pam Factor-Litvak.

IQ drop by more than seven points
In the course of their investigation, the researchers examined 328 women from New York City and their children, examined women's exposure to the four plasticizers DnBP, DiBP, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, and diethyl phthalate, and IQ with their children at the age of seven Test completed. Even taking other factors into account, such as maternal IQ, maternal school graduation or the quality of the home environment, there has been a clear reduction in the children's intelligence quotient in connection with mothers' phthalate burden, say the US researchers. For the two softeners DnBP and DiBP, it was found that the children showed a 6.6 or 7.6 points lower IQ at a particularly high prenatal exposure than children with a very low prenatal load.

Far-reaching consequences for unborn children
„The extent of these IQ differences is worrying“, said senior author Robin Whyatt, professor of environmental health sciences and deputy director at the Columbia Center for Children's Health and the Environment at the Mailman School of Public Health. Because „A drop in IQ of six or seven points can have a significant impact on academic performance and work potential“, So Whyatt continues. Dr. Factor-Litvak has sharply criticized the lack of regulations that protect the sensitive phase of children's brain development during pregnancy from being impaired. Because labeling is not required on products in the United States, pregnant women find it difficult to avoid intake. The researchers recommend various measures to minimize exposure in general. For example, pregnant women should not consume plastic-wrapped microwave foods and avoid strong-smelling products as much as possible, according to the US scientists.

Health risks due to plasticisers
The reduction of IQ by contact with phthalates is just one aspect of the potential health effects of plasticizers. In addition, observations from previous studies in which cognitive and motor impairments, an increased risk of asthma and hormonal disorders were found, write the US researchers. Pregnant women should therefore generally avoid contact with the phthalates as far as the health of their unborn child is concerned. (Fp)