Some of the chemicals were identified as plasticizers, fragrances, flame retardants, and pesticides which are commonly present in daily products

Office workers in the USA, UK, China, and India are regularly exposed to a harmful mixture of chemicals that can interfere with their hormonal functions, a new study has observed.

Some of the chemicals were identified as plasticizers, fragrances, flame retardants, and pesticides which are commonly present in daily products. The study further examined the interaction of these chemicals with different hormone receptors in the human body.

As part of the study, which is published in Chemosphere. the researchers recruited 243 office workers to wear silicone wristbands at the workplace for one week while going about their normal activities. After the duration was over, they found 99 known chemicals on the wristband apart from over 1000 chemical signatures for unidentified substances.

The researchers noticed that the exposure to the chemicals strongly impacted hormonal functions as it interfered with the estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormone receptors in human cells. They found that the chemicals also blocked the sex hormones.

For example, women were typically exposed to mixtures with different kinds of chemicals and with higher sex hormone interference than men—likely because they tend to use more personal care products than men.

What is more, office goers in India and China were found to be more susceptible to this toxic chemical mix.

There was, however, no evidence for the negative effect of the chemical mixtures on human health. But the study provides enough evidence linking the role of personal care products and building micro-environments to hormone-disruption.

Also read : Tool that measures workplace stress

Author

Insha Dar

Insha Mushtaq, a health reporter for The Health Leads, hails originally from Srinagar, Kashmir. She possesses an uncanny ability to distill complex issues into accessible and engaging articles. In addition, Insha holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Mumbai University and is currently pursuing a Master's in Convergent Journalism at the Central University of Kashmir.
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