1976 Accident Near Milan, Italy Affecting Thyroid Health of Newborns Decades Later

A 1976 dioxin leak at a chemical factory in Seveso, Italy, near Milan, is still having effects on thyroid function of children decades later. According to an Italian/US research team, babies born to mothers who live in Seveso are more than six times likelier to have changes in thyroid function.

The study finding these results is published in the journal PLoS Medicine by the University of Milan's Andrea Baccarelli, and colleagues from the United States and Italy.

Specifically, babies born in the most highly contaminated area were 6.6 times more likely to have an elevated TSH level, compared to uncontaminated areas, and blood TSH levels were highest in the babies whose mothers had the highest levels of dioxin in their blood.

The authors concluded that these findings suggest that maternal exposure to dioxins such as TCCD in the environment produces damaging effects on the thyroid function of their babies "far apart in time from the initial exposure."

Source: Baccarelli A, Giacomini SM, Corbetta C, Landi MT, Bonzini M, et al. (2008) Neonatal thyroid function in Seveso 25 years after maternal exposure to dioxin. PLoS Med 5(7): e161. Read the article now

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