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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 "That's the missing link, testosterone as a [possible] link between phthalates and obesity," Stahlhut said.
Stahlhut and his team analyzed urine, blood samples and other data collected for the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), a large government survey, from 1999 to 2002.
Of the adult men available, 1,451 had data on phthalate exposures, obesity and waist circumference. Of these, 651 also had data on fasting glucose and insulin levels needed to calculate insulin resistance.
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According to the analysis, more than 75 percent of the U.S. population has measurable levels of several phthalates detectable in their urine.
Men with the highest levels of phthalates in their urine had more belly fat and insulin resistance, even after adjusting for other factors.
One drawback of the data, and therefore of the study, is that no information on hormone levels was available, nor was there any long-term data.
In any event, phthalates are unlikely to be the whole story. The chemicals have been shown, in animal studies, to have an effect on thyroid hormone, which could also be a pathway to increased obesity.
"This is just part of the search for answers," Stahlhut said. "The thing we're certain of is not that phthalates are doing this, but that phthalates require very careful scrutiny. I'm certain that the declines in testosterone and sperm production require urgent investigation, and I'm certain that phthalates are on the list of chemicals that could be part of the issue."
"It's a complex, multi-factorial problem," Schettler added. "What the authors are suggesting is that a chemical exposure may be one among many factors. The study is certainly hypothesis-generating. It clearly makes a case that this potential link ought to be studied in more detail in more systematic ways."
More information
Visit the American Diabetes Association for more on type 2 diabetes.
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