New Study Suggests Link Between Hairspray Exposure and Genital Birth Defect
Women exposed to hairspray in the workplace in their first trimester of their pregnancy have more than double the risk of having a son with the genital birth defect hypospadias, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The study was conducted by researchers from Imperial College London, University College Cork (Ireland), and Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (Spain) and is the first to show a significant link between hairspray and hypospadias, which is one of the most common birth defects of the male genitalia.
The causes of hypospadias are poorly understood. Instead of opening at the tip of the penis, a hypospadic urethra opens elsewhere along a line running from the tip along the underside to the base, usually corrected with surgery in the first year of the boy’s life.
