Chemicals in Our Everyday Items: How They Affect Kids' Hormones

Ever wondered if the chemicals in everyday items could affect kids' hormones? A recent study looked into this. Researchers studied 429 children aged 9-12 in Hokkaido, Japan, from 2017 to 2020. They focused on chemicals called organophosphate flame retardants and plasticizers (PFRs), which are found in many household items. These chemicals can break down into different parts, called metabolites, which can be found in urine. The study measured 13 of these metabolites in the kids' urine. The researchers also measured 14 steroid hormones and four reproductive hormones in the children's blood. They found some interesting connections. In boys, certain PFRs were linked to higher levels of a hormone called estradiol and lower levels of hormones like insulin-like factor-3 (INSL3) and luteinizing hormone (LH). This suggests that these chemicals might interfere with how hormones work in the body. The study also looked at how mixtures of PFRs affect hormones. They found that these mixtures were linked to changes in several hormones, including cortisol, cortisone, and inhibin B. This is important because these hormones play big roles in how the body grows and develops. In girls, the study found links between certain PFRs and hormones like androstenedione, testosterone, and inhibin B. The mixtures of PFRs were also linked to changes in these hormones, as well as cortisol and cortisone. This shows that PFRs might affect girls' hormones differently than boys'. The study used different methods to look at these connections, including linear regression, quantile g-computation, and Bayesian machine kernel regression (BKMR). These methods helped to show how individual PFRs and mixtures of PFRs might affect hormones. This study raises important questions. It shows that chemicals in everyday items might affect kids' hormones. This is a big deal because hormones play a crucial role in how the body grows and develops. It's important to note that this study only shows connections, not cause and effect. More research is needed to fully understand how these chemicals might affect kids' health.