Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Chemicals in toys and shampoos have been linked to more than a million deaths in the United States each year

October 16, 2021

According to an NYU study, greater phthalates exposure is associated to early deaths, especially from heart disease

According to a New York University study, daily exposure to phthalates, a collection of chemicals found in everything from plastic containers to makeup, can cause 100,000 deaths in older Americans each year. The chemicals have been recognised for decades to be “hormone disrupters,” disrupting a person’s endocrine system, and can be found in hundreds of products like as toys, clothes, and shampoos. According to the study published in the journal Environmental Pollution, toxins can enter the body through these elements and are associated to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

The study, which involved roughly 5,000 adults between the ages of 55 and 64 and was undertaken by New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, found that those with greater phthalate concentrations in their urine were more likely to die from heart disease. Higher concentrations, on the other hand, do not appear to enhance the chance of cancer death. “Our findings show that greater phthalate exposure is connected to early death, notably from heart disease,” says the study’s lead author; said study lead author Leonardo Trasande.

“Until now, we’ve known that chemicals are associated to heart disease, and that heart disease is a leading cause of death, but we hadn’t yet linked chemicals to death.” However, Trasande emphasised that the study did not prove a direct cause and effect relationship between phthalate exposure and death, in part because the molecular mechanisms underlying that relationship are unknown. “Our research reveals that the toll of this chemical on society is considerably higher than we first anticipated,” Trasande said, adding that “it is absolutely evident that reducing exposure to toxic phthalates can help defend physical and financial well-being.”

Phthalates have already been connected to almost 10,000 fatalities each year in adult men due to low testosterone levels, according to other studies. According to the study, the cost of phthalates is between $ 40 and $ 47 billion, which is more than four times the previous estimate.