study to track chemicals

Canadian scientists are recruiting hundreds of pregnant women for a landmark, $6-million study designed to track whether the household chemicals that expectant mothers encounter can trigger health problems in their children — or even alter the babies’ genetic makeup, according to the National Post.

This is expected to create a new scientific domain called epigenetics.  The field is based on the idea that environmental factors can get the genes to turn on and off.  The significance is that the subsequent alterations of genes could lead to various diseases, such as cancer, as well as become an inherited trait.

In the multi-phase study the mothers’ “blood, hair, breast milk and urine samples will be tested for a host of chemicals, from such heavy metals as lead, cadmium and mercury, to bisphenol-A, fire retardants and certain pesticides. The women will also be questioned about their lifestyles, diet and occupations.”

One focus of the study will be on phthalates.  Much research has been released lately indicating the this chemical, like BPA, is the cause of many problems seen in infants.  

Many mothers are being encouraged to volunteer so that more data can be gathered to effectively evaluate environmental factors in child development and disease.