Research Links PBDEs in House Dust to Lowered Testosterone in Men, Boston University's School of Public Health

ACS -- A preliminary study shows that men living in homes with higher concentrations of PBDE flame retardants in house dust had proportionally lower levels of free (biologically available) testosterone, according to a short communication published online in Science of the Total Environment (2009, DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.01.030). Slated for inclusion in the journal’s May issue, the study is the first to link decreased levels of adult male hormones to PBDEs, which animal tests have shown to have antiandrogenic properties.