NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 10 - Exposure to perfluorinated chemicals may reduce women's fertility, according to a report in Human Reproduction published online January 28.
Dr. Chunyuan Fei of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues observe that these chemicals are widely used in consumer products, persistent in the environment, and detectable in humans and animals worldwide. There is some evidence of an effect on sex hormone homeostasis and other reproduction-associated processes.
The researchers studied Danish data on 1240 pregnant women in whom levels of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were measured at 4 to 14 weeks' gestation. Reported times to pregnancies (TTP) were divided into 5 categories ranging from less than a month to more than a year.
Higher maternal levels of the agents were associated with longer TTP. Compared to women with the lowest PFOS/PFOA plasma levels, the estimated fertility odds ratio in those with higher exposure ranged from 0.67 to 0.74.
There was a linear-like trend, and when all levels were included, these were significant for both PFOS and PFOA.
"This study," lead investigator Dr. Fei told Reuters Health, "presents the first human data on the association between PFOA/PFOS and subfecundity, but the results are preliminary."
"If our results are not chance findings," Dr. Fei added, "they have public health relevance for the PFOA and PFOS exposure levels seen in the general population, and they may be one of the new determinants of subfecundity."
Hum Reprod 2009.
