According to a new study, phthalates are linked to 10% of premature births in the United States, and it’s likely the same in the rest of the world.
Par Adonis Leroyer with AFP
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Phthalates, present in many plastic objects, are the cause of premature births.
HEALTH – Plastic is definitely everywhere. Its microscopic form floods our bodies, the environment, and therefore goes so far as to disrupt births. This is what a new American study published on February 7 in the journal The Lancet. It reveals that one in ten premature births is linked to the exposure of pregnant women to chemicals contained in everyday plastics.
Called phthalates, these compounds serve to soften plastic and can be found in thousands of consumer products, including plastic containers and packaging, beauty products and toys. It is also because of phthalates that it is not recommended to heat in the microwave in plastic containers.
Endocrine and metabolic disruptors
The consequence is that they “can precipitate labor and early births”, the lead author of the study, Leonardo Trasande of New York University, told AFP. To reach this conclusion, researchers analyzed the level of phthalates in the urine of more than 5,000 pregnant women in 2018 in the United States. Result: the 10% of women with the highest levels of phthalates had a 50% increased risk of premature birth.
By extrapolating to the entire United States for this year 2018, they estimate that 56,600 premature births could be linked to exposure to phthalates, or approximately 10% of these. Problem is, prematurity can cause health problems. Researchers thus assessed the medical and social costs of premature births associated with phthalates. According to them, we arrive at a (very wide) range which varies from 1.6 to 8.1 billion dollars.
Although it was carried out in the United States, the omnipresence of phthalates allows scientists to assert that 5 to 10% of premature births in the world (and therefore in France) could be linked to these chemicals.
How to avoid phthalates
According to this new study, more than three-quarters of phthalate exposure comes from plastics. Despite that, “Plastic producers do not pay for the health effects, they do not take care of these premature babies”underlines the researcher.
Among the few measures that have been taken is the replacement of DEPH, a phthalate known for its dangers by many manufacturers. Problem, this new study explains that “alternative phthalates are associated with even greater effects than DEHP”explain Leonardo Trasande.
Stephanie Eick, a reproductive health researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study, said the research could not definitively prove that premature births were directly caused by phthalates. . However, there is now “an overwhelming number of observational studies that support this hypothesis”she told AFP.
To limit the risk of exposure, it is recommended to eat less packaged foods in plastic and avoid beauty products containing phthalate. Researchers also recommend avoiding plastic containers which, once put in the microwave or dishwasher, release phthalates which are then free to be absorbed by food.
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