Boy children may have poorer sperm quality by being exposed to parabens in the mother’s womb. It may be a good idea to look for the Nordic Ecolabel when you buy cream, sunscreen, make-up, or other cosmetic products.
Then you do not expose yourself to parabens. Parabens are a group of substances used as preservatives in some cosmetic products that do not have the Nordic Ecolabel.
It appears that boy-babies exposed to parabens while in the mother’s womb have a shorter anogenital distance. That is the distance between the genitals and the anus.
A study e shows this from, among others, the Odense Children’s CohortSDU and Odense University Hospital.
What exactly it means is uncertain. But previous research suggests that men who have a shorter distance between the two often have bad sperm quality and less testosterone in the body, says Tina Kold Jensen.
She is a Professor of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacy, and Environmental Medicine at SDU and a research leader in Odense Children’s Cohort.
Of course, the account has been taken of how tall the people are and what they weigh. Because the bigger you are, the longer the anogenital distance is too, Tina Kold Jensen continues.
Researchers Were Surprised
425 pregnant women were measured for various parabens in their urine in the study. All children were examined at the age of three months, and the anogenital distance was measured.
The boys exposed to parabens had shorter anogenital distances than normal, while the girls had longer than normal.
The pregnant women in the study had relatively low concentrations of parabens in their urine, and therefore we did not expect to see a negative impact on their children. So it was surprising, says Tina Kold Jensen.
While research suggests that a short anogenital distance in men may mean worse sperm quality, one is more uncertain about what a long-distance will mean for women.
We follow both the boys and the girls until they turn 18 to become wiser about what this will mean for them later in life, says Tina Kold Jensen.
If you doubt whether there are parabens in the cosmetic products or care products you use, you can use the app Kemiluppen from Forbrugerradet Taenk to help you.
Otherwise, you must look for whether there is something with the paraben on the product declaration, says Tina Kold Jensen and continues:
The authorities have to make sure that we do not get all sorts of endocrine disruptors into the body. But as a consumer you can also do something yourself, namely to buy nordic Ecolabelled products, which the Danish Environmental Protection Agency recommends.
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