Prenatal Phthalate Exposure Allegedly Linked to Lower IQ Scores
A recent study has claimed that children born to women whose urinary
phthalate levels during pregnancy were in the top quartile of their study
cohort had lower intelligence-quotient (IQ) test scores at age 7 than their
peers born to women in the quartile with the lowest exposure. Pam Factor-Litvak, et al., “Persistent Associations between Maternal Prenatal
Exposure to Phthalates on Child IQ at Age 7 Years,” PLoS ONE,
December 2014.
According to Columbia University researchers, who analyzed data
from 328 women and their 7-year-old children from the Columbia
Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) longitudinal
birth cohort, “child full-scale IQ was inversely associated with
prenatal urinary metabolite concentrations of DnBP [di-n-butyl
phthalate] and DiBP [di-isobutyl phthalate].” Using the fourth
edition Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children, the study purportedly
found “significant inverse associations… between maternal
prenatal metabolite concentrations of DnBP and DiBP and child
processing speed, perceptual reasoning and working memory; DiBP
and child verbal comprehension; and BBzP [butylbenzyl phthalate]
and child perceptual reasoning.”
“The magnitude of these IQ differences is troubling,” said senior
author and CCCEH Deputy Director Robin Whyatt in a December
10, 2014, press release. “A six- or seven-point decline in IQ may have
substantial consequences for academic achievement and occupational
potential.”
Based on these findings, the authors reportedly recommend
that expectant mothers “take steps to limit exposure by not
microwaving food in plastics, avoiding scented products as much
as possible, including air fresheners, and dryer sheets, and not
using recyclable plastics labeled as 3, 6, or 7.” As lead author Pam
Factor-Litvak elaborated, “While there has been some regulation to
ban phthalates from toys of young children, there is no legislation
governing exposure during pregnancy, which is likely the most
sensitive period for brain development. Indeed, phthalates are not
required to be on product labeling.”
Issue 548
