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Prenatal exposure to parabens and anthropometric birth outcomes: A systematic review

Akram Jamal1, Noushin Rastkari2, Reza Dehghaniathar3

  • 1Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Poorsina St., Tehran, Iran.

Environmental Research
|April 12, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal exposure to parabens, common preservatives, did not show a clear link to birth weight or head circumference. More research is needed to understand their effects on infant development.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Reproductive Toxicology
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Parabens are widely used preservatives with known antibacterial properties.
  • Concerns exist regarding the potential estrogenic activity of parabens and their impact on health, including adverse birth outcomes.
  • Understanding the effects of prenatal exposure to these ubiquitous chemicals is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and investigate the association between prenatal exposure to parabens and anthropometric birth outcomes.
  • To synthesize current evidence on the relationship between maternal paraben levels during pregnancy and infant measurements.
  • To identify gaps in knowledge and limitations in existing research.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic literature search was conducted across major scientific databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase) up to April 18, 2018.
  • Studies were screened for relevance, and original articles investigating prenatal paraben exposure and birth outcomes were included.
  • Six original articles were selected for the final analysis after removing duplicates and irrelevant records.

Main Results:

  • Most pregnant women in the included studies showed evidence of paraben exposure, particularly to methyl and propyl parabens.
  • No definitive association was established between prenatal paraben concentrations and infant birth weight or head circumference.
  • A positive, though non-significant, association was observed between maternal paraben exposure and infant birth length.

Conclusions:

  • Current epidemiological studies lack the methodological rigor and consistency to establish significant associations between prenatal paraben exposure and anthropometric birth outcomes.
  • Limitations in study design and inter-study variability impede definitive conclusions.
  • Future large-scale, well-designed studies are necessary to elucidate the complex effects of environmental factors like parabens on birth outcomes.

Keywords:
Anthropometric measuresBirth outcomesParabensSystematic review

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