Chemicals in Plastic May Increase Diabetes Risk in Some Women

Shower curtains, wallpaper, paint, toys and makeup are just some of the everyday items that contain phthalates, a chemical commonly used in plastics. Now research suggests the chemical may be trace at a higher risk of diabetes in white women — who have a 30 to 63 percent higher incidence of diabetes, according to the study.

“People are exposed to phthalates on a daily basis, which increases their risk of contracting several metabolic diseases. It is important that we tackle [endocrine-disrupting chemicals] now that they are harmful to human health,” Sung Kyun Park, ScD, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, said in a Feb. 8 statement. statement.

Researchers collected data from more than 1,300 women in a six-year longitudinal study who did not have diabetes and tracked levels of the chemical in urine samples. As levels rose, the chemical, which is already known to be linked to diabetes risk, in turn caused a higher incident rate in women who had increases in these levels.

However, the researchers noted that the results were not “statistically significant” enough to determine this with certainty.