Most women probably don’t want to rush into menopause. But chemicals you encounter every day could speed up the onset of menopause by close to 4 years.
Most women probably don’t want to be rushed into menopause. But that seems to be what’s happening thanks to our modern soup of environmental chemicals.
It’s estimated that we live in a world saturated with over 80,000 man-made chemicals. They’re in pharmaceuticals, food, personal care products, cleaning products, cars, clothing, computers, and innumerable household items.
These chemicals persist in the environment and accumulate in our bodies. Many, known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), interfere with hormone activity. They’ve been linked to certain cancers, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, low sperm count, early puberty, infertility, and pregnancy complications.
Now in a study published in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of researchers has linked exposure to these chemicals with an earlier age at menopause.[i] In fact, these chemicals might send you into menopause almost four years earlier!
Early menopause means more time for hot flashes, mood swings, and memory fog, and increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, and breast cancer.
The study was based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2008 covering 31,575 women aged 45 to 55 years old.
The researchers looked at 111 EDCs including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, coolants) and DDT. They also examined the effects of dioxins/furans (combustion byproducts), phthalates (plasticizers), phytoestrogens (plant-derived estrogens), phenolic derivatives (phenols, industrial pollutants),organophosphate pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, combustion products), and surfactants.
They focused on chemicals that are already known to disrupt reproductive function.
Their results showed a clinically significant association between 15 EDCs and age at menopause. That included nine PCBs, three pesticides, a furan (similar to dioxin), and two phthalates.
Phthalates have already been cited as a concern for menopausal women because of their endocrine disrupting properties. They are commonly used in building materials like plastic flooring and wall coverings, food processing materials and medical devices. They are also found in many personal-care products such as shampoos, nail polish, deodorants, fragrances, cosmetics, hair gels, mousses, hairsprays, and hand and body lotions. You’ll also find them in varnishes and some nutritional supplement coatings.