Alarming information: A brand new research finds that a number of manufacturers of health tracker and smartwatch bands comprise “very high concentrations” of a man-made chemical that may hurt our well being.
College of Notre Dame researchers examined 22 wristbands at numerous worth factors — many had been manufactured with fluoroelastomers, artificial rubbers designed to repel sweat, pores and skin oils and water.
9 of the bands had elevated ranges of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), a kind of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These compounds are generally known as “forever chemicals” — they usually’ve been linked to a number of well being issues, together with an elevated danger of sure cancers.
“The most remarkable thing we found in this study was the very high concentrations of just one PFAS — there were some samples above 1,000 parts per billion of PFHxA, which is much higher than most PFAS we have seen in consumer products,” mentioned Graham Peaslee, research co-author and professor emeritus within the Division of Physics and Astronomy.
PFAS have been detected in quick meals containers, non-stick cookware, stain- and water resistant materials, shampoo, cosmetics, paints and adhesives, amongst different merchandise.
Smartwatches and health trackers are very talked-about wearable expertise. In a 2019 survey, 21% of American adults reported carrying one usually.
Peaslee mentioned that is the primary research to deal with PFAS in health trackers and smartwatch bands.
They’re known as “forever chemicals” as a result of they don’t simply break down within the setting, persisting in soil and groundwater for lengthy durations. A research out this week discovered they’re pervasive in public water techniques.
PFAS have been linked to well being points corresponding to diminished immune perform, elevated ldl cholesterol, thyroid dysfunction, liver harm, developmental delays in youngsters and an elevated danger of sure cancers, significantly kidney and testicular cancers.
“Few studies so far have been published regarding the dermal absorption of PFAS,” mentioned Alyssa Wicks, a graduate pupil in Peaslee’s lab and lead research writer.
“One article published [in 2024] by a European research group found that a couple types of PFAS had significant transfer through the skin,” Wicks continued. “That initial study only examined around 20 of the 14,000 known types of PFAS, and more studies are needed to better understand how PFAS travel through the skin.”
In Wicks’s research, elevated ranges of PFHxA had been present in watchbands that value over $15.
Publicity to excessive doses of PFHxA might hurt the liver, thyroid, crimson blood cell depend and the creating fetus.
Three of the bands included within the evaluation had been deemed costly as a result of they value over $30 — all three contained significantly excessive quantities of fluorine.
Elevated fluorine ranges are a robust indicator of PFAS contamination, the researchers mentioned, as a result of all PFAS molecules comprise fluorine atoms.
“Fifteen of the 22 bands we tested had a high percentage of total fluorine concentrations, and nine contained PFHxA,” Wicks mentioned. “The others used some other unidentified surfactant that wasn’t in our targeted analysis.”
The findings had been revealed just lately within the Environmental Science & Know-how Letters journal.
Peaslee mentioned the outcomes warrant a extra complete research on PFAS in watchbands.
