Sunscreen contains chemical that affects fertility

A new study shows that chemicals from sunscreen can cause infertility. the research was conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the New York state Department of Health's Wadsworth Center. The said they found 2 chemicals in such products that causes infertility.

The researchers found benzophenone-type ultraviolet filters, a chemical that can affects fertility on both genderr. According to NIH, "Some of these chemicals, upon being absorbed by the skin, can interfere with the body's hormones and endocrine system processes." "Researchers found that men with high exposure to UV filters BP-2 or 4OH-BP had a 30 percent reduction in fecundity, the biological ability to reproduce. Lower fecundity may result in a longer time to pregnancy."

Researchers said this is just a preliminary result of their test and different confirmation tests might be needed to make it more established as a study. Their study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Germaine Louis, Ph.D., director of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and one of the researchers quoted, "In our study, male fecundity seems to be more susceptible to these chemicals than female fecundity. The women participants actually had greater exposure to the UV filters overall, but their exposure wasn't associated with any significant pregnancy delays."

"Our next step is to figure out how these particular chemicals may be affecting couple fecundity or time to pregnancy -- whether it's by diminishing sperm quality or inhibiting reproduction some other way," Louis added.