Over the last several decades, studies have shown puberty is starting earlier in young girls. It’s a trend researchers call alarming.
And now they’ve identified a specific chemical that may be part of the problem.
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A study published in JAMA Network looked at the average age of first menstruation of more than 71,000 women. When comparing women born in 1950 to 1969 and those born from 2000 to 2005, it found the average age decreased from 12.5 to 11.9 years old.
“It’s a time where certain parameters are set leading into later life,” said Susan Pinney, an epidemiologist at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Early puberty is linked to an increased risk of health issues, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer.
“That’s why we worry about environmental exposures during puberty that seem to perturb the normal pattern of development,” Pinney said.
Researchers with the National Institutes of Health say the rapid pace of these changes points to environmental factors. They studied more than 10,000 compounds found in drugs and chemicals. Of those, one in particular stood out.
Musk ambrette is a fragrance molecule found in some soaps, detergents, perfumes and lotions. The study found this chemical can impact the area of the brain that releases hormones that trigger puberty.
Pinney said delayed puberty is also a problem brought on by the same environmental factors.
“We discovered that various aspects of puberty were delayed in girls that had higher levels of PFOA, one of the PFAS and also a couple other of the PFAS types of chemicals,” Pinney said.
The environmental working group says watch for the word “fragrance” on product labels, which could include musk ambrette and dozens of other unnamed chemicals. Instead, choose products that list all of their ingredients so you know what’s in them.