{"id":204,"date":"2014-10-22T12:18:43","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T16:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intranet.chemservice.com\/news\/2014\/10\/2-phthalates-are-linked-to-incidence-of-childhood-asthma\/"},"modified":"2014-10-22T12:18:43","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T16:18:43","slug":"2-phthalates-are-linked-to-incidence-of-childhood-asthma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intranet.chemservice.com\/news\/2-phthalates-are-linked-to-incidence-of-childhood-asthma\/","title":{"rendered":"2 phthalates are linked to incidence of childhood asthma"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of children diagnosed with asthma continues to rise in the U.S., and scientists are exploring the links between the chronic respiratory disease and chemical compounds found in air pollution, tobacco smoke and other sources. One team of scientists from the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to two phthalates – butylbenzyl phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate – as published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. They discovered these chemicals increased the overall risk of childhood asthma<\/a> by more than 70 percent.<\/p>\n

The results of this study may have an impact on public health efforts to control the incidence of childhood asthma.<\/p>\n

'We have to protect pregnant women'<\/strong>
\nAccording to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the number of children ages 5 to 14 years diagnosed with asthma in the U.S. nearly doubled between 1980 and 1993. That figure continued to rise over the next two decades. As of 2011, more than 7 million American children younger than 18 years had asthma. During that same year, more than 4 million of these individuals experienced at least one asthma attack. This condition can make it difficult for children to engage in everyday activities, and in some cases may even prove fatal.<\/p>\n

The authors of the new study had previously studied the impact of prenatal exposure to various chemical compounds on the incidence of childhood asthma. For the current research, they decided to focus on BBzP and DnBP. In an experiment, they followed 300 pregnant women and measured metabolism of four phthalates by analyzing urine samples. Urine was collected from the mothers in the third trimester of pregnancy, as well as from the children at ages 3, 5 and 7 years. The researchers then compared the incidence of asthma in the upper one-third of subjects based on phthalate exposure to that of the bottom one-third.<\/p>\n

Results showed that BBzP raised the risk of childhood asthma by 72 percent between the top and bottom thirds of the study subjects. For DnBP, that risk increase was 78 percent.<\/p>\n

"The fetus is extremely vulnerable during pregnancy. While it is incumbent on mothers to do everything they can to protect their child, they are virtually helpless when it comes to phthalates like BBzP and DnBP that are unavoidable. If we want to protect children, we have to protect pregnant women," said senior study author Rachel Miller, M.D.<\/p>\n

The researchers were unable to discern the most prominent sources of phthalate exposure among the study subjects, but these compounds are found in a range of products, including plastic food containers, vinyl flooring, insect repellent, automobile steering wheels and dashboards, and shower curtains. While the scientists are not entirely clear on how phthalates can drive childhood asthma, they proposed that these chemical compounds may cause inflammation and oxidative stress in developing fetuses.<\/p>\n

Previously, phthalates had been banned from various childhood products. No such measures have been taken for pregnant mothers.<\/p>\n