Is your teenage son going to get man boobs?

[ensho]

http://www.stats.org/stories/2010/gynecomastia_jan6_10.html


A few weeks ago, a study by Turkish researchers in the journal Pediatrics reported an association between exposure to the plasticizer DEHP and gynecomastia (man boobs) in pubescent boys. Given that claims about the potential risk from exposure to phthalates (the family name for such chemicals as DEHP) has generated enormous public concern, often through exaggeration or misconstrual of the actual research findings, STATS took a look at the strenghts and weaknesses of the research.

Overall, this study has some good evidence that DEHP is correlated with gynecomastia in pubescent boys, but due to the nature of the study, cause and effect are impossible to tease out, so there are important caveats.

Strengths

-snip-

Weaknesses

-snip-

It is important to keep in mind that a huge proportion of young men get gynecomastia -- though very few at a painful level. In almost all cases, it resolves on its own. One thing that would make this a stronger study (in addition to controlling for other suspected causes of gynecomastia) would be to see if those who have it are also more likely to stay that way (i.e. for their situation not to resolve itself) if they have higher levels of DEHP/MEHP.

Errors

-snip-
---------------------------------


at least and at last, they are starting to seriously investigate the problem/causes.

[MineralMan]

1. Heck! I had to wait until I was 60 to get mine.

:rofl:

[niceypoo]

2. I remember my grandmother telling me that smoking pot makes men grow womens breasts

She also tried to drill into me that pot was a communist plot to make a generation of zombies so that the Soviets could just walk into the US unopposed. And she was a Democrat. My, how things change over time!

[hlthe2b]

6. well, had it been sprayed with certain pesticide/herbicides...

that have been shown to bind to estrogen receptors... that is not altogether out of the question... A very large class of chemicals (halogenated hydrocarbons) have been shown to have estrogenic effects at some level or another, including PCBs.

Just sayin....

[timeforpeace]

3. One lone study and the media pounces. Anyway, push ups and weight loss cures that.

[SallyMander]

5. You said something very similar in my thread

Why shouldn't the media report interesting scientific results? The whole point of the scientific process is that hypotheses are generated and tested... and retested... and retested... to see if they can be falsified. The media attention will (if anything) only cause more follow-up studies, bigger sample sizes, and better information. I don't understand your issue with this process.

[timeforpeace]

12. Scientific consensus requires others duplicating your study and obtaining the same results. This is

just media perusing scientific journals for one study that's interesting to the masses.

[SallyMander]

13. But... so what?

Would it be better for them not to report on science at all? Do you also disagree with the media covering legislation in a single state that isn't the "law of the land" for the whole U.S.?

[JVS]

4. I have a teenage son? FUCK!

[shadowknows69]

9. I was surprised my own self.

It is technically possible though.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. Yeah. Welcome to the club.

A sad, sad club.

[east texas lib]

7. It's all part of a marketing scheme by the chemical companies...

To create a vast new market for their hottest future product...The MAN BRA! }(

[FarCenter]

8. Approximately three billion kilograms are produced annually

Due to its suitable properties and the low cost, DEHP is widely used as a plasticizer in manufacturing of articles made of PVC. Plastics may contain 1% to 40% of DEHP. It is also used as a hydraulic fluid and as a dielectric fluid in capacitors. DEHP also finds use as a solvent in lightsticks.

Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

[ensho]

10. kick

and found in every river, stream, pond, lake, etc.

[BeatleBoot]

11. On a lighter note