Amid growing concerns that endocrine disruptors (also known as environmental hormones) cause increased obesity and diabetes in modern society, a study found that exposure to phthalates, a type of environmental hormone, is related to the increased risk of obesity in children and adolescents in Korea.
In particular, research on urine of children and adolescents in Korea showed that the concentration of environmental hormones such as diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) metabolites was relatively higher than that of children and adolescents who did not.
Professor Park Mi-jung of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents at Inje University's Sanggye Paik Hospital (Park Mi-jung, Kim Shin-hye, Moon Mun-je, and Seo Moon-young) analyzed the concentration of bisphenol A in vivo of 2,351 children aged 3 to 17 years old who participated in the 3rd (2015-2017) survey.
Phthalates are used as plasticizers to easily process polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products, used to process various products such as flooring, food packaging, plastic containers, and medical storage containers, and are also used to make personal hygiene products such as shampoo and cosmetics fragrant. It is known that exposure to the human body occurs through various channels such as ingestion of phthalate-containing food from packaging materials, contact with phthalate-containing products, or inhalation of contaminated air.
The research team reported that the concentrations of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) metabolites detected in urine of Korean children and adolescents were relatively higher than those of the U.S., Canada, and Germany, and that among phthalates, especially those with high diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites were about 60% higher than those of low concentrations.
Professor Park Mi-jung said, "Phthalates are endocrine disruptors that have been suspected of causing obesity by activating Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma), which plays an important role in differentiation and lipid metabolism of fat cells, and inhibiting the function of thyroid hormone. The large-scale study showed that exposure to DEHP is related to the risk of obesity in children and adolescents in Korea," he said.
Professor Kim Shin-hye said, "The level of phthalate exposure was higher in preschool children than in adolescents, because the younger the age, the higher the absorption rate of toxic substances through ingestion, inhalation, and contact," adding, "Managing items that touch children's hands and mouths and removing dust containing phthalates through regular cleaning helps prevent exposure."
Writer: Danielle Lee
(Picture from Unsplash)
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