Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Unimore Study on the Impact of Phthalates on Children's Genital Development Wins Award in Copenhagen

Among the winners of the Poster Award at the recent Joint Congress of ESPE and ESE 2025 in Copenhagen – which saw the participation of over 8,000 paediatric and adult endocrinologists and more than a thousand scientific contributions – was a study conducted by the research team led by Professor Lorenzo Iughetti from the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Mothers, Children and Adults at Unimore, together with Professor Elena Righi’s team from the Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neurosciences, and excellently presented by Dr Laura Lucaccioni.

The results presented show how exposure to environmental pollutants can cause alterations in genital measurements during the first three years of life, potentially affecting sexual development and fertility later on. Phthalates are a broad group of synthetic chemicals widely used in everyday consumer products, such as household cleaners, food packaging, toys, cosmetics, and personal care items.

These chemical substances can interfere with the body’s natural hormones (hence classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals – EDCs) and can have harmful effects on health, including children’s sexual development. For instance, it has been shown that early exposure to phthalates in both boys and girls can lead to changes that may result in infertility.

In this study, Unimore researchers examined samples from 188 children – at birth, 3 months, 6 months, and 3 years of age – and from their mothers, taken after childbirth and again when the children were 3 years old. They analysed these samples for 8 key phthalate metabolites and found that all were detectable in every sample from both mothers and children, increasing progressively over time. In fact, the majority of the mothers and children exceeded the risk threshold for phthalate exposure.

“Our work, which is part of a research line we have been developing for over 10 years, highlights how early exposure to environmental pollutants can affect the health of younger generations, particularly their sexual development and likely fertility later in life. The phthalate levels – chemicals widely used in everyday products and known for their endocrine-disrupting properties – were found to be much higher than expected, and it is clear that daily exposure to these substances may indeed pose a significant long-term risk. I believe it is important to raise awareness about these health risks, and it is certainly necessary to implement public health prevention efforts to protect vulnerable groups,” commented Professor Lorenzo Iughetti.

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng