Boys exposed to unusually high levels of environmental pollutants are smaller than their peers, a new study reports. After following nearly 500 boys for three years, an international group of researchers found that those with the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their blood were nearly three centimeters (more than an inch) shorter than boys from the same region with the lowest amount of PCBs in their bodies.
Boys with the highest exposures also averaged two points lower in body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight relative to height. The authors found a similar pattern in boys with the highest exposure to the pollutant dioxin. “You’re always a little surprised to see such a dramatic effect,” study author Jane Burns of the Harvard School of Public Health told Reuters Health, but the findings are “consistent” with some other research about the effect of these chemicals.
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Waheed Mahmood
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