Exposure to even small amounts of toxic metals found in drinking water and food can cause the eggs in women’s ovaries to deplete more quickly, a study warns.
Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury are increasingly common in American tap water and in a wide range of foods and vegetables, as well as in fish and even chocolate.
Now, researchers from the University of Michigan have shown that middle-aged women with high levels of these metals are at risk of infertility.
The women had fewer eggs in their ovaries, leading to lower pregnancy rates and more miscarriages, as well as symptoms such as hot flashes, weak bones, a higher risk of heart disease and cognitive decline.
Some effects in women of EDCs include early menopause, an increased risk of breast cancer, endometriosis, which can lead to infertility, and metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Researchers found that foods with the highest levels of toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium included baby food, root vegetables such as beets, rice and dark chocolate.
The above map from the pressure group the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows the populations served by drinking water with the highest levels of lead contamination. Florida had the highest concentration of lead pipes, a separate study found
“Our findings suggest that these heavy metals may reduce ovarian reserve in middle-aged women during the transition to menopause,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Dr. Park said: ‘Metals, including arsenic and cadmium, possess endocrine disrupting properties and can be potentially toxic to the ovaries.
‘We also need to study the younger population to fully understand the role of chemicals in reduced ovarian reserve and infertility.’
Metals such as lead and arsenic have been linked to a host of health problems, including reduced infertility, endometriosis, early puberty, some cancers, diabetes and obesity.
They can be found in dark chocolate, green leafy vegetables and baby food.
Researchers from a separate study found that 56 percent of Americans still drink water infected with pipe.
For the latest study, researchers analyzed 549 middle-aged women who were transitioning to menopause.
The women had at least 0.3 μg/l arsenic (micrograms per liter), 0.06 μg/l cadmium, 0.05 μg/l mercury and 0.1 μg/l lead.
Previous research shows that the normal amount of arsenic in urine is less than 50 micrograms per liter.
The researchers also looked at their levels of the anti-Müllerian hormone, which tells doctors approximately how many eggs are left in a woman’s ovaries.
“It’s like a biological clock for the ovaries that can indicate health risks in middle age and later in life,” says study author Dr. Sung Kyun Park, associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan.
The study found that women with higher metal levels in their urine were more likely to have lower AMH levels, an indicator of a reduced number of ovaries.
Women with the highest amounts of arsenic or mercury in their urine had lower AMH concentrations around the time of their last menstrual period.
For arsenic, AMH levels were 32.1 percent lower than in women who had a lower amount of the metal in their urine.
For mercury it was 40.7 percent lower.
^^ I’m just having a hard time getting my head around this. HOW CAN WE ASK IT TO SPEAK TO THE NEW INTRO AND HEADING?
Furthermore, higher cadmium and mercury concentrations were also related to the accelerated decline of AMH over time.
Higher cadmium was associated with a nine percent annual decline in AMH levels.
Mercury was associated with a decline in AMH levels of 7.3 percent per year.
Their endocrine-disrupting chemicals are found in the air, soil, drinking water and food, as well as in manufactured products.
They have been linked to a host of health problems, including reduced infertility, endometriosis, early puberty, some cancers, diabetes and obesity.
Lower egg counts are also linked to symptoms such as hot flashes, weak bones, an increased risk of heart disease and cognitive decline.
The study was published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Toxic metals have been found in foods such as dark chocolate, green leafy vegetables and baby food and have been linked to thousands of cases of cancer each year in the US.
Lead, arsenic and cadmium levels in food have risen in recent years as they seep into soil and water and contaminate crops used to feed particularly vulnerable populations such as children.
Researchers found that 13,000 cases of bladder, lung and skin cancer each year could be linked to contaminated food.
A separate study found that lead in drinking water, old paint and some cosmetics kills millions of people worldwide every year.
World Bank researchers claimed that lead contamination is responsible for more heart disease than smoking or poor diet.