Common Chemicals Linked to Infertility

Jan. 29, 2009— -- Could your cookware and cleaning supplies make it harder for you to have a baby?

In the current issue of Human Reproduction, researchers suggest that chemicals called perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs for short, might be linked to delays in getting pregnant. But study authors and experts in the field caution that the findings are preliminary and mainly highlight an area that needs more research.

"The finding is interesting," says one of the study's authors, Joseph K. McLaughlin, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. "We need to know more about these chemicals because they are long lasting and have had effects in animals."

And until more is known, the researchers say, changes in health policy are unlikely.

"This is the first study in the world that has looked at this particular association," says lead study author Dr. Jorn Olsen, chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. "Normally we don't base our conclusions on public health information on one study. We need to wait for other studies to make policy recommendations."

PFCs are everywhere. They're found in Teflon cookware, the original Scotchgard, some shampoos, floor wax, food wrapping, carpet treatments and other cleaning products. PFCs are also present in air and water in the form of industrial waste from chemical plants.

"The whole issue of things in our environment affecting reproduction is important, and any studies that bring attention to it are of value," says Dr. Howard Zacur, professor and director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

There have already been animal studies demonstrating the toxic effects of PFCs. "In the laboratory, we've seen negative effects in animals," says Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor and chairman of Community and Preventive Medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "We're now starting to see studies looking at the impact they [PFCs] have in humans."

The study released Wednesday looked at 1,240 women in the Danish Birth Cohort when they were six to 12 weeks pregnant. If they reported that it took them longer than 12 months to get pregnant or if they used drugs designed to increase their chances of conceiving, they were considered to have infertility. This is a generally accepted definition of infertility by experts in the field.