According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), phthalates are widely used in consumer and industrial products because they can make plastics more durable and help other materials dissolve. These chemicals can disrupt the body’s endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone regulation. Some previous research has tied phthalate exposure to an increased risk of neurological problems in children, asthma, early puberty, pregnancy complications like preterm birth, infertility, endometriosis, and fibroids. “These toxic pollutants are everywhere, including food packaging, hair and makeup products, and more, and their usage is not banned,” said Serdar Bulun, MD, the chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, in a statement. Dr. Bulun is the senior author of the study, which was published today in PNAS. “These are more than simply environmental pollutants. They can cause specific harm to human tissues.” Uterine fibroids are extremely common. Up to four in five women will develop these at some point in their lifetime, according to the Mayo Clinic. Many times, fibroids cause no symptoms. But the number and size of fibroids can vary, and they can cause a range of symptoms including heavy menstrual bleeding, unusually long periods, pelvic pain, frequent urination, difficulty emptying the bladder, constipation, backaches, and leg pain. In more serious cases, fibroids can cause infertility, miscarriages, uncontrolled or excessive uterine bleeding, and large tumors that require invasive surgeries. To look for direct connections between phthalate exposure and fibroids, scientists exposed uterine tissue samples in a lab to several different compounds formed when the body breaks down different types of phthalates. They found a strong connection between symptomatic uterine fibroids and what’s known as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is commonly used in catheter tubing and other medical devices, as well as a wide range of consumer products like shower curtains, car upholstery, lunch boxes, and shoes. In lab tests, scientists discovered that DEHP activates a hormonal pathway that sets off a chain reaction inside cells to make it easier for fibroid tissue to grow in the uterine lining. The reaction seen in these lab tests involved some of the same cellular processes associated with agent orange exposure during the Vietnam War, a toxin that caused significant reproductive abnormalities, Bulun said. DEHP has been the most widely used phthalate for many years, and it’s widely used for food packaging and medical supplies despite a growing body of evidence linking this chemical to a variety of human health problems. DEHP can be gradually released from consumer products into indoor environments such as homes, schools, day care centers, offices, and cars. It settles on floors and other surfaces and can accumulate in dust and air. While it can be hard to avoid phthalate exposure, there are some precautions that can minimize the risk, according to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. These include:
For elective medical procedures, request devices and equipment free of DEHP including intravenous solution bags, tubing for dialysis, feeding tubes, oxygen masks, and surgical gloves.Always wash your hands before preparing food, and before eating.Clean floors with a wet mop or vacuum cleaner that has a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.Wipe up dust regularly using a damp cloth.
