Phthalates are widely used in plastic products such as food containers and wraps to add flexibility. They are also used in skin softeners and moisturizers, nail polishes, insect repellants, shower curtains, hairsprays, building products, and more. Because phthalates leach out of these products, they've become a ubiquitous environmental contaminant.

The first study, of air samples and urine samples collected from pregnant women in New York City and Krakow, Poland, analyzed five different phthalates, including DBP, DEP, DIBP, DEHP, and BBzP. This team found phthalate exposure in all of the urine samples of the 60 women studied and in all of the air samples.

"Inhalation appears to be a significant route of exposure, given the high correlations between air and urine measures," the authors of the exposure study write. "This counters the general belief that ingestion of contaminated food products is the most significant exposure pathway and suggests that inhalation and possibly dermal absorption may also be determining a woman's exposure."

The second study, of cord blood from 84 infants born consecutively at a hospital in Brindisi, Italy, specifically studied exposure to DEHP and its main metabolite, MEHP. This team found that 88% of the infants had been exposed in the womb to this commonly used phthalate and that average gestational age decreased from 39.35 weeks to 38.16 weeks in those exposed.

The pregnancy duration study authors acknowledge that the potential toxic effects of phthalates on the developing fetus is unknown at this point, but express concern about the impact of exposure. "Our observation of a shorter pregnancy duration in prenatally exposed newborns suggests that phthalates may play a role in inducing an intrauterine inflammatory process [a well-established risk factor for premature birth]. In addition, no statistically significant differences in other maternal and/or fetal factors potentially affecting pregnancy duration were present in our population," they write.

Commenting on the studies, Dr. Jim Burkhart, science editor for EHP, says, "These studies together begin to paint an interesting picture. With phthalates all around us, pregnant women are clearly being exposed. The need for more research on these topics is obvious."

The lead author on the exposure study is Jennifer Adibi of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health in New York. Other authors are Frederica P. Perera, Wieslaw Jedrychowski, David E. Camann, Dana Barr, Ryszard Jacek, and Robin M. Whyatt.

The lead author on the pregnancy duration study is Giuseppe Latini of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Perrino Hospital in Brindisi, Italy. Other authors are Claudio De Felice, Giuseppe Presta, Antonio Del Vecchio, Irma Paris, Fabrizio Ruggieri, and Pietro Mazzeo.

EHP is the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2003/6202/abstract.html.

Editor's note: Full copies of both reports are available by fax or e-mail (PDF format) to media at no charge. Go to www.ehponline.org/press, call 919-653-2582, or e-mail media@ehp.niehs.nih.gov.