Household Chemicals Linked to Infertility

Feb. 24, 2009 -- Food packaging, shampoo, clothes, and other household products contain chemicals that may make it harder for some women to get pregnant, suggests the first study on the subject.

It's still too early to recommend that women who want to conceive try to avoid these products, said lead researcher Chunyuan Fei, a Ph.D. student in epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. But her results are concerning enough to warrant further work.

"This is quite a new topic and lots of things are unknown," Fei said. "Because these chemicals are widespread, I think it's important to conduct more study."

The chemicals Fei and colleagues looked at belong to a group called perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), which appear in a variety of common products, from upholstery to pesticides. In particular, the researchers focused on perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA).

Related Content:

• Christmas Lights Pose Health Hazard
• Discovery Earth: Video, Expert Interviews, Photos and More
• HowStuffWorks.com: Causes of Infertility
• More Discovery News

Studies have linked PFOA and PFOS to toxic effects in the livers, immune systems, and reproductive systems of animals. In people, Fei and colleagues previously found that women with many children had lower blood levels of PFOA and PFOS than did women with fewer children.

In turn, the scientists wondered if these chemicals might affect fertility. Eight percent of women in the United States have visited their doctors for infertility-related reasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To investigate, the team collected blood and surveyed more than 1,200 newly pregnant women who are taking part in the Danish National Birth Cohort, a long-term health study. All of the women had become pregnant on purpose.