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 The chemicals – known as PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers -
can be used to make clothing or upholstery fire-resistant.
PBDEs belong to “a class of chemicals that interfere with our
endocrine system – so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals," said
lead researcher Joseph Allen of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of
Public Health.
PBDEs disrupt the endocrine system by interfering with the body's
production of the hormone estrogen. The thyroid, which controls
metabolism, can malfunction without the right amount of estrogen.
Side effects from endocrine disruptors can cause developmental,
reproductive, neurological and immune system problems.
Along with fabrics, PBDEs may be found in pharmaceuticals,
cosmetics, pesticides, plastics, detergents, food, and toys,
according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Previous research has shown that flame retardant chemicals can
accumulate in fatty tissue and interfere with hormone function,
Allen and colleagues note in the journal Environmental Health.
For the current study, they reviewed data on thyroid problems and
blood concentrations of four different types of PBDEs in women
interviewed in 2003 and 2004 as part of the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey.
Compared to women with the lowest blood concentrations of flame
retardants, women with the highest levels in their blood were 48 to
78 percent more likely to have thyroid problems, the study found.
Older women had more issues – 24 percent of post-menopausal women
reported having thyroid issue at some point, compared with 12
percent of pre-menopausal women.
Because it's known that estrogen levels regulate thyroid hormones,
researchers suspected post-menopausal women, who make less estrogen
than younger women, might be particularly vulnerable to thyroid
problems associated with the chemicals.
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One limitation of the study is its reliance on survey participants
to accurately recall and report on any thyroid problems, the authors
note. The study also doesn't prove flame retardants cause thyroid
damage, only that there appears to be an association between these
two things.
"Flame retardants migrate out of furniture and other products into
the air and dust in our homes, schools and offices," Allen noted in
an email to Reuters Health.
Indeed, most exposure to PBDEs in the U.S. occurs through
inadvertent contact and ingestion of dust particles in the home,
said Heather Stapleton, an environmental health researcher at Duke
University in Durham, North Carolina, who wasn't involved in the
study.
"These chemicals are so persistent and ubiquitous that they are
present at very low levels in the home," Stapleton said by email.
The only way to know whether older furniture has flame retardants is
to test it in a lab, Stapleton said. But there are other ways to
minimize how much these chemicals seep into the body.
"Washing your hands before you eat is also likely to reduce
exposure," Stapleton added. "It's also suggested that cleaning and
dusting practices, particularly wet dusting or mopping approaches to
minimize resuspension of particles, can reduce exposure."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1THpkUT Environmental Health, online May 24,
2016.
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