City-slickers, compared with their rural counterparts, are wealthier and have better job prospects. They enjoy bountiful food, superior healthcare and cleaner sanitation. But babies born in cities are more likely to grow up to have increased fertility problems according to a new study.
Daily exposure to pollution can set us up for a lifetime of ill-health. And as cities become ever more crowded, these problems are only going to get worse.
The latest studies indicate that daily exposure to urban pollution can affect us before we are even born – leaving us prone to a lifetime of ill-health.
Scientists have discovered that babies born in cities are bigger and heavier – normally a good sign – than those born in the countryside.
But when they compared the placentas of mothers from a busy city and a quiet rural district, they found that the city mums had far higher levels of chemical pollutants called xenoestrogens in their blood – and in that of their unborn babies.
Xenoestrogens are industrial chemicals that affect our bodies in similar ways to the female hormone, oestrogen.They are found in petrol fumes and are more abundant in industrial areas than the countryside.
As well as causing excess foetal growth, they have been linked to fertility problems as well as obesity, hyperactivity, early puberty, and cancers of the lung, breast and prostate.
Maria Marcos, who led the study by the University of Granada, Spain, says the toxic xenoestrogens seem to have a significant effect on the development of unborn children. Her report provides the latest evidence that city air can seriously hinder normal childhood development.
This report might also help to explain why infertility seems to be on the increase and why more and more couples are turning to IVF and other assisted conception methods.
