In honor of Valentine’s week we’ve been discussing the link between personal care products and reproductive health. (On Monday I addressed how women are affected.) Surprisingly enough, personal care products affect male fertility and a baby boy’s developing reproductive system, as well.
Between 2000 and 2003, a study was performed on 409 men who used cologne, aftershave, lotions, hair products, and deodorants. Men who used cologne and aftershave forty-eight hours before the test had significantly higher concentrations of monoethyl phthalate, a chemical directly linked to DNA damage in sperm. 1
Exposure to phthalates is particularly brutal for baby boys. As a quick biology lesson, androgens, testosterone, and dihydrotestosterone all are needed for the development of a male’s reproductive system. Androgens, essential in making a man a man, are created during prenatal development. Certain chemicals – most notably phthalates – directly affect prenatal androgen production.
Out of several phthalates tested, four specifically harm the male reproductive system: BBP (benzylbutyl phthalate), DEHP (diethyhexyl phthalate), DINP (diisononyl phthalate) and DBP (dibutyl phthalate). BBP and DBP are both present in perfumes, colognes, hairspray, and nail polish.
Simple inhalation or skin contact is enough to contaminate a person – in other words, spraying perfume on your skin or even smelling someone else’s sweet aroma can contaminate a person’s bloodstream. If that person happens to be pregnant, then the unborn child also gets a dose of phthalates.
A male baby’s permanent birth defects caused by phthalates are staggering:
- Birth defects of the penis, including reduced size;
- Birth defects of the testicles, including undescended testicles;
- Birth defects of the urethra, called hypospadias;
- Lower sperm counts;
- Malformed epididymis;
- Permanent reduction in testosterone; 2
- Reduced anogenital distance (the length between the anus and base of the penis). One study in particular proved mothers with the highest phthalate concentrations gave birth to sons with the shortest anogenital distances. 3
Sources
1. “Personal Care Product Use Predicts Urinary Concentrations of Some Phthalate Monoesters.” Susan M. Duty, Robin M. Ackerman, Antonia M. Calafat and Russ Hauser. Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 113, no. 11, Nov. 2005, pp. 1530-1535.
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Wow! That is eye – opening! Nicely researched post. Thanks for sharing. WIll be following your blog in the future!
Thank you!
There is more exposure caused by fatty foods including milk and cheese than there ever could be from random sprays of cologne. Your fears are unfounde. Your tears are wasted.
Robert Benson—in a breakthrough study published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology—examined animal data and reconciled that with human exposure figures, to come up with a true human risk assessment. That is, he looked at human exposure (in the US and Germany) to all the phthalates that have been implicated in bad rodent effects to see how this stacks up with EPA guidelines—replete with their enormous built-in safety factors.
Benson concludes:
A Hazard Index of less than 1 means that there is little probability that an adverse effect might be observed from the exposure to the chemicals. As can be seen from the results…the Hazard Index for the median, 95 percentile, and maximum exposed individual are equal to or less than 1. Thus, it is unlikely that humans are suffering adverse developmental effects from current environmental exposure to these phthalate esters.
Given that phthalates have been used for decades with no apparent ill effects on hundreds of millions of humans, mere observation might have brought us to the same point. That’s why many scientists mock endocrine disruptor fears as a conclusion in search of data.
I agree that random sprays of cologne probably have little consequence … personally, my greater concern is for the women and men who spray and slather on a half a dozen heavily scented products each day. I can’t believe that continually being exposed to so many chemicals (phthalates or not) can be good for your health.
Scientifically speaking, though, I’m glad Benson’s study shines a different light on phthalates. Thanks for bringing it to my attention – clearly I missed that research while I was looking at the other three studies.
While I’m thankful for Benson’s study, it makes me wonder … if phthalates are not causing the birth defects, then what is?
By the way, if other readers want to learn a little more about Benson’s study, “Hazard to the developing male reproductive system from cumulative exposure to phthalate esters,” check out .