London: Chemicals commonly found in everyday products such as food containers, non-stick pans and clothes may be causing early menopause in women, a study has suggested.
The study of almost 26,000 women by a team from the West Virginia University School of Medicine in the US found that those with high levels of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) were more likely to have gone through the change of life prematurely. Dr Sarah Knox, who led the research, said: "There is no doubt that there is an association between exposure to PFCs and onset of menopause, but the causality is unclear.
"Part of the explanation could be that women in these age groups have higher PFC levels because they are no longer losing PFCs with menstrual blood anymore.
"But it is still clinically disturbing because it would imply that increased PFC exposure is the natural result of menopause," Dr Knox was quoted as saying by The Telegraph. The researchers found that higher levels of PFCs were associated with increased odds of having experienced menopause in women aged between 42 and 64 years.
Women in this age group with more PFCs also had very less sex hormone oestrogen compared to those who had low levels of PFCs, which are also found in furniture, carpets and paints. PTI
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