New research just published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has shown people with high blood levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have higher rates of thyroid disease. PFOA is a chemical found in stain and water-resistant carpet and fabric coatings, certain cleaning products, and microwave popcorn bags, among other uses. PFOA is also found in the chemical polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) -- which is best known as the non-stick finish Teflon.It's not clear whether PFOA is causing thyroid disease, indirectly causing thyroid problems by affecting the immune system, or whether there is a reverse effect, and thyroid disease makes people more susceptible to accumulating PFOA in the bloodstream. But researchers are clear that more study is needed to evaluate the effect of long-term and/or low-level exposures to PFOA.
In the study, British researchers evaluated the PFOA levels of 3966 Americans age 20 and older during the period from 1999 and 2006. The researchers found that those who had the highest levels of PFOA were also twice as likely to reporting having thyroid disease currently, than those with the lowest PFOA levels.
Study co-author Dr. David Melzersaid in a statement: "We have pretty strong statistical evidence of an association between blood levels in people and the reporting of having thyroid disease."
It's not clear how people are being exposed to PFOA -- but it's thought that contaminated food, water, and household dust contaminated by carpets and fabrics are involved.
The study concluded "Higher PFOA...concentrations are associated with thyroid disease (and being on thyroid related medication)...More work is needed to establish the mechanisms underlying this association..."
More Information Here at About.com
Teflon Chemical May Harm Thyroid
Source:
Melzer D, Rice N, et. al. "TS 2010 Association Between Serum Perfluoroctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Thyroid Disease in the NHANES Study." Environmental Health Perspectives :-. Doi:10.1289/ehp.0901584 Online Abstract / Full PDF article
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In relation to environment chemicals why is it fuel’s from car and trucks diesal is not looked upon as and dangerous cancer forming.
When all is said we wantonly breath these fumes live beside highways, use vehicles and live beside garages.
It is known people commit suicide via this method successfully and die.
Good grief, I am speechless! So how does one avoid this problem, if contamination is in food, water and household dust?
Some of the exposure seems to be persistent chemicals in the environment from the manufacture of these items, so just avoiding Teflon-containing products in our homes isn’t a sure way to avoid exposure. Fetal cord blood has been tested and nearly always contains these toxic compounds, even in remote areas of the earth. We’ve really polluted our “nest”, haven’t we?
Reducing demand for these products at least will reduce the manufacture of them and lower the amount of endocrine-disruptors being released into the environment. Don’t buy products labeled as stain-resistant (clothing, upholstery, carpeting) and choose natural materials instead of synthetics. I know non-stick finishes, stain-resistance, and the ease of synthetic materials are so tempting, but manufacturing them creates far worse problems than the need to scrub a bit more.
Rosemary – most people that commit suicide by running the car often pump the exhaust into the car or allow a build up of carbon monoxide while they are in a confined area. You could do the same thing with any motor and some space heaters. Vehicles have been around forever. This is a risk of modern life. The only way to get around this type of environmental risk is to ditch cars, trucks, and buses.
It seems lately that the environmental movement has the ultimate card since everything that does not fit into their want or need – will cause death. I realize that the polar ice caps are melting, the polar bears are endangered – but they are at a high in population, global warming is going to kill us, but 15 years prior it was a global cooling movement.
I would suggest to pick the best products that you can afford to make up your home environment. Keep the environment clean. Eat a reasonable diet. Exercise daily if possible. Work a job that you enjoy. And lastly enjoy your life. This last suggestion is probably the most important. Be happy.
Kevin,
I agree with you about enjoying your life. We are exposed to untold dangers in our lives and if we worried about them, what a unhappy life we would lead!
We should just try not to use too many chemicals and be aware of radiation, like the over use of mobile phones (microwaves) Especially near children. Wi Fi, that is being used more, especially in schools only adds to the radiation smog!
I have a thyroid problem and had to have two operations to remove a nodule and a few years before I was diagnosed with thyroid desease, the tragic Chernobyl accident happened. I read about many young children who lived around Chernobyl, dying of Thyroid cancer. When I went in to hospital to have my first operation, I asked the Doctor about these children and she said that the Thyroid is one of the first forms of defence and with children’s organs, still developing, they will absorb more radiation!
It is frightening to think that we are putting our children at risk like this!
Polluting our homes isn’t a new issue. During the middle ages people would eat off of lead plates. Tomatoes would release chemicals and would kill people. For a long time tomatoes were considered poison.
Because there’s so much misinformation out there about Teflon, I’m not surprised there is concern. I’m a representative of DuPont though, and hope you’ll let me share some information with you and your readers, so that everyone can make truly informed decisions.
A recent study tried to determine whether there is a potential relationship between PFOA and thyroid changes. The study’s authors state that the observed association is a correlation, which may or may not be causal. This is inconsistent with other studies, including studies of workers who have had much higher levels of PFOA exposure than the general public. These workers have not shown any changes that would indicate impact on the thyroid. The weight of evidence gathered from a number of significant health studies continues to indicate to us that there is no health risk to the general public from exposure to PFOA. Please take a look at http://www2.dupont.com/PFOA2/en_US/pfoa_thyroid.html for more info. http://www.teflon.com/Teflon/teflonissafe and http://www.pfoa.dupont.com can provide you with additional information, as well.