Los Angeles: According to a new study, potentially toxic chemicals found in items used on a daily basis (food wrappers, makeup and carpets) are causing changes in hormonal and metabolic processes necessary for human development.
In the study, the researchers examined blood samples from children, adolescents and the elderly. Various synthetic compounds called fluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAs) were found in the blood samples of all these individuals, known as ‘forever chemicals’. Among the chemicals found were PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFHpS and PFDA.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has recently announced regulations to strictly control the levels of these chemicals in drinking water in the US.
According to Jesse Goodrich, assistant professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and lead author of the study, exposure to PFA compounds not only disrupts lipid and amino acid metabolism, but also thyroid in children. Hormonal activity also changes.
For normal growth in children, the thyroid makes two important hormones that help control blood pressure and help the body make and use proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. These messenger chemicals affect every cell in the body.
Amino acids are needed to make enzymes, hormones, proteins and other essential molecules in the body, while lipids help store vitamins, aid in hormone production, and convert fat into energy and use or store it. .
According to David Andrews, senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group (who was not involved in the study), this study is not the only study looking at the effect on hormone levels caused by exposure to PFEs in humans. Metabolic states are also affected.
They said that changes in these metabolic indices may indicate a variety of future health outcomes in children, such as increased risks of obesity, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease and possible cancer.
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