Baby Care Products are Associate with Phthalate Chemical

5 February 2008

Researchers at the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and University of Washington have recently completed a study which revealed that babies who were treated with regular infant personal care products such as lotion, shampoo and powder were more likely to have phthalates (pronounced "thah-lates"), synthetic chemicals, in their urine than babies not treated with these products. The study will appear in the February 2008 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Phthalates are added to a variety of personal care and cosmetic products (for both adults and children), as well as many plastic and vinyl products. Phthalates are also found in children's toys, lubricants, infant care products, cosmetics and personal care products. Phthalates are not chemically inert, which means they can be released into the air or surrounding liquids, probably leading to exposure through breathing, skin contact and ingestion. Product labels on items containing phthalates are not required to list phthalate content.

Recent studies suggest that phthalates may adversely affect human reproduction and exposure to babies, either prenatally or through breast milk, can affect hormones (but the exposure and adverse reactions has not yet been studied in infants).

In the study by the researchers at the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and University of Washington wanted to find out if babies who were treated with baby-care products had any level of phthalates in their urine after treatment with the products and determine the amount of phthalate levels in the urine. They collected urine samples from 163 infants aged 2 months to 28 months, and measured the levels of nine different phthalates in those urine samples. They also requested the mothers to fill out a questionnaire about the baby care products used on the babies in the past 24 hours.

When the researchers analysed the data, they found an extremely strong correlation between use of baby care products and levels of phthalates in the baby's urine - babies who had been treated with the baby care products had a much higher level of the phthalates in their urine compared to the babies who were not treated with any baby care products. About 81% of the babies who had been treated with the baby care products had 7 or more different phthalates in their urine.

The researchers also discovered that the younger a baby was (up to 8 months old) and if the babies (of any age within the given age group) were treated with a lot of the baby care products, the more likely it was that there were phthalates in the urine.

“We found that infant exposure to phthalates is widespread, and that exposure to personal care products applied onto the skin may be an important source,” said the study’s lead author, Sheela Sathyanarayana, MD, MPH, a researcher with Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and assistant professor of paediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “This is troubling, because phthalate exposure in early childhood has been associated with altered hormone concentrations as well as increased allergies, runny nose and eczema. Babies may be more at risk than children or adults because their reproductive, endocrine and immune systems are still developing.”

Parents who want to decrease their baby's exposure to phthalates, should limit the amount of baby care products they use on their infants and children and only use these products if they are medically required, but for a limited time only.

Parents are also advised to not heat any plastic products in the microwave, as these contain phthalates and use glass as an alternative for storage and heating whenever possible.

There are phthalate-free (mostly organic and chemical-free) baby care products that parents can use instead, which are better for their baby. Phthalate-free cosmetics and adult personal care products are also available.



Resources
University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute. Use of Baby Personal Care Products Associated With Phthalates. Accessed 9 February 2008