NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Findings from a study of Chinese newborns
suggest that pregnant women exposed to phthalates -- plasticizer chemicals used
in many consumer products -- increases the risk of low birth weight.
In animal studies, phthalate exposure has been linked to reduced fetal birth
weight and shorter pregnancies, note Dr. Ren-Shan Ge, from Rockefeller
University, New York, and colleagues there and in Shanghai. "No data are
available regarding a possible association between phthalate exposure and...low
birth weight in humans," they point out in the latest issue of The Journal of
Pediatrics.
To look into this issue, the researchers measured phthalate levels in the
pregnant mother's blood, the cord blood, and meconium specimens obtained from 88
mother-newborn pairs in which the infant had a low birth weight and in 113
unexposed control pairs. Phthalate levels were determined with high-performance
liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Low birth weight and control pairs were similar in length of pregnancies,
pre-pregnancy body mass index, prenatal care, vitamin supplementation, and
socioeconomic levels, according to the report.
Measurable phthalate levels were present in over 70 percent of samples taken,
and significantly higher levels were noted in case pairs than in controls. In
particular, prenatal exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) was linked to low
birth weight, while exposure to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was associated
with shorter birth length.
Upon further analysis, DBP cord blood levels in the top 25 percent were
associated with a 3.54-fold increased risk of low birth weight compared with
levels in the lowest 25 percent.
The results suggest that prenatal phthalate exposure may be a risk factor for
low birth weight, the authors conclude. "Continued surveillance and additional
research are needed to evaluate the complex potential health risks from high
exposure to phthalates."
SOURCE: The Journal of Pediatrics, June 25, 2009 online issue.
