Crude oil chemical linked to heart defect in babies

Babies who are exposed before birth to ethyl benzene, a toxic component in crude oil, may have a higher risk of developing congenital heart disease, according to US researchers.

Another chemical used as an industrial metal degreasing agent, trichloroethylene (TCE), also boosted heart risks, said the research to be presented at the Paediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Congenital heart disease occurs when the heart is malformed before birth, and is the most common of all birth defects. Previous studies have suggested it could be caused by chemicals in the environment.

“Congenital heart disease is a major cause of childhood death and life-long health problems,” said D. Gail McCarver, lead author of the study and professor of paediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

“Thus, identifying risk factors contributing to CHD is important to public health.”

Researchers collected stool samples from 135 newborn babies with the heart condition and 432 infants without it. A full 82 per cent of all the infants showed exposure to at least one of the 17 solvents measured in the study.

White, but not black, infants who showed exposure to ethyl benzene had four times the risk of CHD.