Chemical Mixtures

In our environment, we are exposed to complex mixtures of chemicals every day and throughout our lifetimes. These chemical mixtures may have greater effects on our health than each chemical would alone. Therefore, scientists are now studying how these mixtures interact in cells, animals, and humans to identify health effects.

For decades, toxicology studies and regulatory approaches have focused on the effects of single chemicals on human health. However, scientists recognize that we are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals every day and throughout our lifetimes. We encounter these mixtures through the air we breathe, the food and water we consume, and the products we use in our home or on our bodies.

These complex chemical mixtures may have greater effects on our health than each chemical would alone. For example, exposure to ozone and aldehydes, which are components of smog, produces greater health effects than would be predicted based on each chemical alone.

NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) are developing methods to study environmental exposures in ways that more closely represent the mixture of exposures that we experience in real life.

Studying a chemical mixture requires evaluating the effects of individual chemicals within the mixture, interactions among those chemicals, and the combined effect the mixture may have on human health. Researchers are examining how these mixtures interact in cells, animals, and humans to determine health effects. In addition, they are developing innovative statistical methods to assess the health effects of mixtures and characterize real-life exposures.

At any given time, we are exposed to complex, real-world mixtures of potentially dangerous compounds. These mixtures include chemicals and infectious agents, which can act in combination to create more severe effects. For example, carriers of the hepatitis B virus who are also exposed to aflatoxin show a 60-fold increase in the incidence of liver cancer.

In recent years, scientists at NTP as well as those affiliated with NIEHS intramural and extramural programs have made substantial progress in learning how exposures to various mixtures affect human health. The following are a few of their findings.Autoimmunity. 

A review of 109 chemicals and mixtures found some compounds that seemed to be protective, and a few that appeared to be risk factors, for the development of autoimmune disease. The biggest potential risk was exposure to an antibacterial and antifungal agent called triclosan, which was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017.

Diabetes. Exposure to the metals arsenic, manganese, and cadmium can impair the function of pancreatic beta cells – a change that is linked to type 2 diabetes risk.

Neurodevelopment. Exposure to a mixture of suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals early in pregnancy may reduce IQ in children. These chemicals can interfere with hormone action, even at low levels.

Obesity. A study of both individual and joint effects of different pesticides indicated that exposure before birth can generate different effects on body weight and composition in boys and girls. Maternal DDT exposure was associated with higher weight in girls whereas maternal pyrethroid exposure was linked to lower weight in boys.

Preterm birth. Analysis of trace amounts of metals, both individually and in mixtures, in urine samples of pregnant women showed links to a higher risk of preterm birth. The study suggested a cumulative effect of urinary arsenic, mercury, and tin.

Sexual development. Prenatal exposure to chemicals used in unconventional oil and gas extraction, also known as fracking, altered mammary gland development in female mice. The researchers saw effects from a mixture of 23 commonly used extraction chemicals at levels that were observed in drinking water in regions with fracking operations.

Women’s health. High levels of synthetic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the body were tied to earlier menopause in women. Accelerating menopause by even a few years can have significant effects on cardiovascular and bone health, quality of life, and overall health among women.

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