Men’s Health Risk With Chemicals

Exposure to chemicals can have serious health consequences. Anyone at any age that was heavily exposed to certain chemicals may have serious health defects and could even be fatal.

For that reason, individuals who work in industries that require them to be in close contact with chemicals have to observe protection. Kids and teens should never be exposed to dangerous chemicals in any way.

But a recent study shows the effects of chemicals are not just experienced with direct interaction. A person may experience the effects of chemicals even though they are still in their mother’s womb. Study is focused to the chemicals DDE; which is part of a pesticide and PCBs which are used to work as insulators.

PCBs are considered very dangerous to humans that pushed the ban of manufacturing of products using or containing PCBs in the US.

According to their study, the exposure of a mother to these chemicals has contributed to the height of their kids when they reached the puberty stage.

This conclusion was very unique because it provides disparity of effects of chemicals in male and female.

The study was conducted by the NIEHS or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The group concentrated on the North Carolina Infant Feeding Study. The respondents of the study were mothers and pregnant women from 1978 to 1982.

During those years, PCBs are not yet banned so exposure to DDE and PCB is very likely. Detection of DDE and PCBs on the pregnant and expectant mother was based on the collected milk and blood samples.

The researchers took samples from the group before they gave birth and also a few stages after. By consistently checking the level of DDE and PCBs, the researchers were able to confirm the level of chemicals in the mother.

There were 850 participants during the early stages of the study. Of the group, more than 590 families were able to come back when their kids reached puberty.

The results were very surprising; males who were exposed to DDE while in the womb are taller than those who were not exposed to the same chemicals. Their current height was more than their ideal height based on their weight. Females on the other hand, have experienced increase in weight.

Basically, their weight is much more than the ideal when their ideal weight was determined by their height.

The females were exposed to PCBs while they were still in their mother’s womb. This disparity is very surprising since it was expected that both chemicals might have the same effect on both genders.

But further study is still needed on the effects of chemicals to infants. While it is true that the mothers were exposed to these chemicals, the effects on the babies were only during the womb.

The effects are hardly felt when the exposure were made by breastfeeding. However, the results of the study have given researchers clues of the exact effects of the chemicals.

DDE and PCBs are regarded as hormone inducers which mean it can contribute to puberty development as it can trigger various hormones in the body.