Plastics components linked to allergies in kids

	Tweet

Exposure to phthalates—compounds used in making plastics—at levels commonly found indoors, appears to be associated with allergic symptoms in children, according to Swedish investigators.

“Although multiple factors likely are responsible for the increases in allergies and asthma that have been documented in developed countries over the past 30 years,” the authors note in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, “it is striking that these increases have occurred during a period when plasticized products have become ubiquitous in the homes, schools, and workplaces of the developed world.”

The team’s findings come from study of 400 children in Sweden. About half had persistent allergic symptoms and half did not. The researchers evaluated each child as well as their home environment, which included a measurement of phthalate levels in dust.

House dust samples from allergic subjects had higher levels of butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP) than those from non-allergic participants, lead author Dr. Carl-Gustaf Bornehag, from Karlstad University in Sweden, and colleagues report.

“Phthalates are all around us in a host of plastic products,” Dr. Jim Burkhart, a science editor with journal, said in a statement. “This study suggests that they may be having a direct influence on the health of a great number of children.”

SOURCE: Environmental Health Perspectives, October 2004. 

RELATED STORIES:
Herpes virus common in young adolescent girls   Light therapy controls hay fever, researchers say   Athletes with Asthma Need More Help from Their Team Trainers   Some kiwi varieties may be less allergy-inducing   Allergic skin disease not tied to childhood asthma   Call to ban some latex gloves   Hormonal Therapies Offer Effective Solutions for Many Adult Women with Acne   Vaccine Stops Food Allergy in Dogs   Allergy sufferers ‘less prone to cancer’   Exposure to worm infection in the womb may protect against eczema, study suggests   Allergies less likely for women with several kids   Date pollen is not main cause of allergies

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]