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Baby shampoos, lotions and powders may expose infants to chemicals that have been linked with possible reproductive problems, a small study suggests.
The chemicals, called phthalates, are found in many ordinary products including cosmetics, toys, vinyl flooring and medical supplies. They are used to stabilize fragrances and make plastics flexible.
In the study, they were found in elevated levels in the urine of babies who'd been recently shampooed, powdered or lotioned with baby products.
Phthalates (pronounced thowl-ates) are under attack by some environmental advocacy groups, but experts are uncertain what dangers, if any, they might pose. The federal government doesn't limit their use, although California and some countries have restricted their use.
Animal studies have suggested that phthalates can cause reproductive birth defects and some activists believe they may cause reproductive problems in boys and early puberty in girls.
Rigorous scientific evidence in human studies is lacking. The current study offers no direct evidence that products the infants used contained phthalates, and no evidence that the chemicals in the babies' urine caused any harm. Still, the results worried environmental groups that support restrictions on these chemicals.
"There is an obvious need for laws that force the beauty industry to clean up its act," said Stacy Malkan of Health Care Without Harm.
The study's lead author, Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a University of Washington pediatrician, said, "The bottom line is that these chemicals likely do exist in products that we're commonly using on our children and they potentially could cause health effects."
Babies don't usually need special lotions and powders, and water alone or shampoo in very small amounts is generally enough to clean infant hair, Sathyanarayana said.
Concerned parents can seek products labeled "phthalate-free," or check labels for common phthalates, including DEP and DEHP.
But the chemicals often don't appear on product labels. That's because retail products aren't required to list individual ingredients of fragrances, which are a common phthalate source.
The Food and Drug Administration "has no compelling evidence that phthalates pose a safety risk when used in cosmetics," spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said. "Should new data emerge, we will inform the public as well as the industry."
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the health effects in humans are uncertain.
"Although several studies in people have explored possible associations with developmental and reproductive outcomes (semen quality, genital development in boys, shortened pregnancy, and premature breast development in young girls), more research is needed," a 2005 CDC report said.
The new study, which appears in February's issue of the journal Pediatrics, involved 163 babies. Most were white, ages 2 to 28 months and living in California, Minnesota and Missouri.
The researchers measured levels of several phthalates in urine from diapers. They also asked the mothers about use in the previous 24 hours of baby products including lotions, powders, diaper creams and baby wipes.
All urine samples had detectable levels of at least one phthalate, and most had levels of several more. The highest levels were linked with shampoos, lotions and powders, and were most prevalent in babies younger than 8 months.
John Bailey, chief scientist at the Personal Care Products Council, questioned the methods and said the phthalates could have come from diapers, lab materials or other sources.
"Unfortunately, the researchers of this study did not test baby care products for the presence of phthalates or control for other possible routes of exposure," Bailey said.
一项小规模的研究发现：儿童香波，润肤露和爽身粉，都可能使婴儿遭受一种可能造成生殖问题的化学物质有关联。
这是一种叫做邻苯二甲酸盐的化学物质，日常用品如化妆品，玩具，塑料地板和医疗用品中都有。它们起到固定香味和使塑料制品更具弹性的作用。
研究发现，这种物质在幼儿的小便中含量偏高，这些幼儿经常使用这些香波，爽身粉或润肤露等儿童用品。
邻苯二甲酸盐遭到一些环保人士的抨击，如果能造成什么危险，但是专家并不太清楚会造什么危险。联邦政府没有禁止使用，尽管加州和一些国家已经严厉禁止使用。
动物实验表明，邻苯二甲酸盐能够引起生殖缺陷，一些积极的反对人士认为他们还可能造成男孩的生殖问题和女孩青春期提前。
人体研究还缺乏严格的科学证据。现在的研究提供不出直接的证据儿童用品含有邻苯二甲酸盐。也没有证据表明幼儿小便中的这种化学物质有害。结果还是令环保组织担心，支持严厉禁止这种化学物质。
无害卫生保健的Stacy Malkan 说：“很明显应该制定法律强制化妆品行业禁止使用该化学物质。”
该项研究的第一作者，华盛顿大学的儿科医生Sheela Sathyanarayana博士，说：“重要的是这些化学物质好像确实存在这些产品中，我们通�；岣颐堑暮⒆用鞘褂茫强赡芤鸾】滴侍�。”
幼儿通常不需要特别的润肤露和爽身粉，单单用水或用很少量的香波都足以清洁婴儿的头发。
心存疑虑的父母们可以寻求标有“无邻苯二甲酸盐”的产品，或检查标签有普通邻苯二甲酸盐的产品，包括DEP或DEHP.
但是化学物质通常不会出现在产品标签上。那是因为零售商品通常不要求列出芳香剂的单独成分，那是邻苯二甲酸盐共同的源头。
美国食品药品局女发言人斯蒂芬妮.奎斯内克说“没有令人信服的证据显示邻苯二甲酸盐在化妆品使用中造成安全风险，如果有新的数据出现，我们就会告知公众和生产企业。”
联邦疾病控制和预防中心说对人体健康的影响还不太明确。
一份2005年CDC的报告说：“尽管几项在人体上进行的研究已经表明可能与发育与生殖（精子质量，男孩生殖发育，缩短妊娠，女孩子胸部过早发育）结论有联系，还需要有进一步的研究”。
新研究发表在二月份的《儿科学》上，，调查了163名婴儿，多数都是生活在加利福尼亚，明尼苏达和密苏里州，年龄在2－28个月大的白人婴幼儿。
研究者检测了儿童尿布里的几种邻苯二甲酸盐水平。他们也询问过母亲们关于孩子前24小时内，使用儿童产品包括润肤露，爽身粉，尿布红疹乳霜和婴儿纸巾的情况。
所有的尿样都能检测到至少一种邻苯二甲酸盐，多数有几种。含量最高的是香波，润肤露和爽身粉，这些东西在8个月以下的婴儿中使用非常普遍。
个人护理用品委员会的首席科学家约翰.贝利，对此提问并且说，邻苯二甲酸盐可能来自尿布，实验室物质或其它来源。
贝利说：“不幸的是，这项研究的研究人员没有检测现在的儿童护理产品中的邻苯二甲酸盐或其他可能暴露的途径。”
