New Plasticizer Dinch Linked to Lower Birth Weights in U.S. Study
A new peer-reviewed study from New York University Langone Health has linked exposure to Dinch, a plasticizer widely used in food packaging and consumer goods, to lower birth weights and fetal development complications. Dinch was introduced by industry as a 'high safety' alternative to phthalate plasticizers, whose health risks became apparent over recent decades. The study, which analyzed federal U.S. health data from over 6,600 pregnancies, found that up to 70% of women had Dinch in their urine. Higher levels of Dinch exposure increased the risk of a child being classified as 'small for gestational age,' meaning below the 10th percentile for babies born at the same stage of pregnancy. Specifically, each tenfold increase in Dinch exposure was associated with a 27-gram reduction in newborn birth weight. The chemical, formally known as 1,2-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester, is used to make plastic more flexible and durable and is found in common kitchen products like cling film and plastic wine...
