Health impact of chemicals in plastics is handed down two generations

 

This research is in mice, but is a warning of what is likely happening in humans.

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/977830

 

 News Release 26-Jan-2023
Health impact of chemicals in plastics is handed down two generations
UC Riverside mouse study finds paternal exposure to phthalates increases risk of metabolic diseases in progeny
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of California - Riverside

 

 Fathers exposed to chemicals in plastics can affect the metabolic health of their offspring for two generations, a University of California, Riverside, mouse study reports.

Plastics, which are now ubiquitous, contain endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, that have been linked to increased risk of many chronic diseases; parental exposure to EDCs, for example, has been shown to cause metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes, in the offspring.

Most studies have focused on the impact of maternal EDC exposure on the offspring’s health. The current study, published in the journal Environment International, focused on the effects of paternal EDC exposure.

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 Led by Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine, the researchers investigated the impact of paternal exposure to a phthalate called dicyclohexyl phthalate, or DCHP, on the metabolic health of first generation (F1) and second generation (F2) offspring in mice. Phthalates are chemicals used to make plastics more durable.

The researchers found that paternal DCHP exposure for four weeks led to high insulin resistance and impaired insulin signaling in F1 offspring. The same effect, but weaker, was seen in F2 offspring.

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