By assessing douching use and urine samples, the researchers found that compared to women who didn't use douches, women who reported douching in the last month had 52 % higher levels of
urinary concentrations of a metabolite of DEP.
Women with
higher urinary concentrations of a common type of flame retardant had reduced likelihood of clinical pregnancy and live birth than those with lower concentrations, according to researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
We found that mothers» reported use of infant lotion, infant powder, and shampoo was significantly associated with MEP, MMP, and
MiBP urinary concentrations.
Since this month's publication in the medical journal Pediatrics of a study linking infant exposure to shampoos, powders and lotions with
increased urinary concentrations of phthalates, many parents have been replacing their favorite baby brands with organic alternatives.
It was measured by
monitoring urinary concentration of the major metabolite of melatonin, which is a hormone produced in the pineal gland known to be involved in the regulation of sleep cycles.
A study in 2005 demonstrated that in as little as 15 days, children adopting a primarily organic diet experienced a dramatic decrease
in urinary concentrations of organophosphorus pesticides.
Because
the urinary concentration of bisphenol A varies widely, it was not quantified accurately in the present study, which relied on a single urine sample for each woman.
Publishing in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers looked at organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs), studying
the urinary concentrations of their metabolites along with outcomes of IVF treatement.