Chronic Diseases Caused By These Everyday Chemicals
A new study revealed a significant link between chemicals such as phthalates and chronic diseases in men.
Chronic Diseases and Everyday Chemicals Raise Safety Alert for Men
In a study conducted by a team of Australian researchers, phthalates, a group of chemicals widely used in common consumer products, were detected in majority of the men being tested in the study, garnering around of 99.6% of the total number of respondents.
The researchers found a prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure in these group of men.
This key finding was confirmed by Associate Professor Zumin Shi, a senior author from the University of Adelaide’s Adelaide Medical School.
Shi says, “We found that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure increased among those men with higher total phthalate levels.”
The powerhouse of researchers were from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
The results of the study are now published in the international journal Environmental Research.
The Study and Key Results
To probe the association between concentrations of phthalates and chronic diseases among men, the researchers invited 1,500 Australian men aged 35 and over to be respondents of the study.
Samples of urine were collected from the respondents and were taken to the lab for the detection of phthalates.
Here are the results:
The team found that almost 100% of the men have phthalates in their urine. Aside from that, the researchers observed a prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure among these men.
“In addition to chronic diseases, higher phthalate levels were associated with increased levels of a range of inflammatory biomarkers in the body.”
Interestingly, even though a majority of the men were obese, the significant association between high levels of phthalates and disease was not substantially altered.
Aside from that, regardless of variance in socio-economic and lifestyle factors, the association between high levels of phthalates and disease was unchanged.
Researchers investigated the independent association between chronic diseases among men.
phthalates in cleaning fluid.
What are phthalates?
Phthalates are a group of chemicals used in hundreds of products, such as toys, vinyl flooring and wall covering, detergents, lubricating oils, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, blood bags and tubing, and personal care products, such as nail polish, hair sprays, aftershave lotions, soaps, shampoos, perfumes and other fragrance preparations.
