Study links hairspray exposure to birth defect

Exploring the factors influencing the risk of developing hypospadias, a birth defect affecting the urinary opening of the penis, scientists raised the alarm about hairspray.

Hairspray exposure more than doubles defect risk​

In research published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers said women who come into contact with hairspray at work in the first three months of pregnancy were two to three times more likely to give birth to a son with hypospadias.

Affecting an average of 1 in 250 boys in the UK and USA, hypospadias is common enough for a two to three-fold increase in risk to be significant.

Scientists ended up pointing the finger at hairspray after conducting detailed telephone interviews in the UK with 471 mothers whose sons had been referred to surgeons for hypospadias, along side 490 controls.

They asked the women a range of questions about their health and lifestyle, including their occupation and other activities to establish exposure to different chemical substances.

Scientists point finger of suspicion at phthalates ​

Picking out hairspray as a risk inducing factor, the scientists suggested that the presence of phthalates was to blame. They said that significant excess risk of hypospadias was found for boys of mothers exposed to phthalates at work compared to those with no exposure.

Previous studies indicating that phthalates may disrupt hormonal systems and reproductive development were cited in support of this position.

However, the scientists were careful not to jump to any definitive conclusions

Professor Paul Elliot, head of epidemiology and public health at Imperial College London, said: “Further research is needed to understand better why women exposed to hairspray at work in the first 3 months of pregnancy may have increased risk of giving birth to a boy with hypospadias.”​

In response to the study, CTPA defended hairspray and the safety of diethyl phthalate (DEP), which is the only phthalate allowed for use in cosmetics in Europe.

The UK trade association said DEP had most recently been reviewed by the European Commission’s independent scientific expert committee SCCP in March 2007 and was approved for safe use in cosmetic products.

G. Ormond et al​, “Endocrine Disruptors in the Workplace, Hair Spray, Folate Supplementation, and Risk of Hypospadias: Case-control Study”, Environmental Health Perspectives, (available at http://dx.doi.org/​), online 20 November 2008.