A study establishes for the first time the impact on the neurodevelopment of children with a mix of endocrine disruptors widespread in the population.
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By damaging the brain development of the fetus, some ubiquitous pollutants in food and the environment participate in the erosion of the cognitive abilities of the population. Uncomfortable and unknown, but already suggested by a large number of recent studies, this fact is at the center of innovative work, the most exhaustive taken to date, published Thursday, February 17 by the Journal Science. They indicate that broad parts of the Western population are exposed to endocrine disruptors (PE) mixtures – substances capable of interfering with the hormonal system – at deleterious levels for the construction of the brain of young children.
“Humans are exposed to many different PEs, and a growing number of evidence indicates that exposure to these mixtures at the beginning of life can induce neurodevelopment disorders and changes in the body that increase susceptibility To certain lifelong diseases, write researchers. The regulation of chemicals is, however, fully based on the risk assessment of individual compounds, leaving unknown and unregulated the impact of chemical mixtures in real situations. “
The authors – thirty-seven researchers of about twenty European and American laboratories – show that a mix of fifteen perale people disrupts the construction of the brain of the child to be born and may delay the acquisition of the Language – An early marker of intellectual disabilities or autistic spectrum disorders. Based on data collected alive and on laboratory animals, the authors propose a new scientific framework for risk assessment, based on the analysis of PE mixtures to which the population is really exposed.
The authors have thus practiced regular biological levies on a cohort of some 2,000 Swedish pregnant women and have been able to estimate their exposure to a variety of substances. They determined that a cocktail of five phthalates, eight perfluorinated compounds (PFAS), bisphenol A and Triclosan, was associated with a delay in the acquisition of language in children of these women.
“Autistic spectrum disorders”
Phthalates and bisphenol A are frequently encountered plasticizers in materials in contact with food, in the domestic environment or certain hygiene and body care products. The PFAS are nonstick and waterproofing substances used in cooking utensils, clothing, food packaging, etc. Some PFAS are prohibited or during the prohibition, but they are persistent, accumulate in the fats, and are now ubiquitous in the food chain – it is now impossible to avoid them completely. As for Triclosan, it is an antibacterial sometimes integrated with hygiene products and body care.
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