Plastics in the Environment: How Do They Affect Children?
Plastics in the Environment: How Do They Affect Children?
The difficulty in studying human effects of phthalate and BPA exposure stems from the fact that intentional dosing of a chemical, as done in a randomized, controlled trial, is inherently unethical. The exception to this rule is chemicals with a potential beneficial therapeutic effect, namely synthetic antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Therefore, we are left with animal studies, including the toxicity testing performed on animals, for these chemicals, and later epidemiologic studies following human exposure.
Epidemiology can be helpful in determining effects, however, they depend on multiple studies, some of which can take years to conduct, thereby delaying the discovery of potential untoward effects until long after human exposure. Various study designs, many forms of bias, confounding, and other flaws can also make the interpretation of such data challenging.
Adverse Effects In Humans
The difficulty in studying human effects of phthalate and BPA exposure stems from the fact that intentional dosing of a chemical, as done in a randomized, controlled trial, is inherently unethical. The exception to this rule is chemicals with a potential beneficial therapeutic effect, namely synthetic antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Therefore, we are left with animal studies, including the toxicity testing performed on animals, for these chemicals, and later epidemiologic studies following human exposure.
Epidemiology can be helpful in determining effects, however, they depend on multiple studies, some of which can take years to conduct, thereby delaying the discovery of potential untoward effects until long after human exposure. Various study designs, many forms of bias, confounding, and other flaws can also make the interpretation of such data challenging.
