The study, which will be published in the Journal of The Endocrine Society, found that women who have higher levels of perfluorocarbon in their bodies have a higher chance of an early onset to menopause.
PFCs are man-made chemicals used in a wide variety of household products, including food containers, clothing, furniture, carpets and paints. They are so widely used, and so ever-present in the atmosphere that samples show 98 percent of all Americans have some levels of them in their blood.
They are believed to alter the way some hormones work in the human body.
Sarah Knox, Ph.D., of the West Virginia University School of Medicine and lead author of the study, says, "The current study is the largest ever to be done on the endocrine-disrupting effects of perfluorocarbons in human women."
She says her study of nearly 26,000 women between the ages of 18 and 65 showed an association between higher exposures to the chemical, lower levels of the female hormone estradiol and early menopause in women over the age of 42.
PFCs are known to have health risks, including higher cardiovascular risk and a suppressed immune system.
