HERMOSA: Health &amp; Environmental Research on Make-up of Salinas Adolescents
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction. Synthetic chemicals are used extensively in cosmetics, shampoos, and other personal care products as fragrances, preservatives, or stabilizers. Some of these chemicals are “endocrine disruptors”, meaning that they mimic or block the effects of hormones, including estrogen, which is a key factor in the development of breast cancer. Some personal care product chemicals cause breast cancer in animal studies or increase the growth of breast tumors in human cells in laboratory studies. Nearly all Americans are exposed to these chemicals, but women tend to have higher levels in their bodies than men because of their greater use of personal care products. For many of these endocrine disruptors, higher levels are seen in adolescent and minority women compared with adults and non-Hispanic whites. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Research Questions. We will measure levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals in adolescent Latina girls and then determine whether these levels decrease when the girls reduce their personal care product use or switch to low-chemical brands. We will determine which practices and products are associated with the highest levels of chemicals in the body and the greatest reductions. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Methods. This study will take place in the Salinas Valley of California, an agricultural region with a large Latino farmworker population, where our group has a long-standing, community-based project. Our group facilitates a Salinas-based Youth Community Council (YCC) of high school students interested in health and the environment. We will train the YCC in research methods and work with them to design the study, develop questionnaires, conduct interviews, and interpret the data. 
 
 
 
 
 
 The YCC will recruit 100 teenage girls from the Salinas Valley, interview them about their personal care product use, and collect urine samples. We will measure chemicals that come from personal care products in these samples. Next, we will provide the teens with fragrance-free, low-chemical shampoos, conditioners, and cosmetics and ask them to use only these products for seven days. On the seventh day, we will collect another urine sample and measure the same chemicals in the samples to see if they have decreased. Following the study, we will work with the YCC on the interpretation of the data and results. In collaboration with community partners and breast cancer and environmental advocacy groups, the YCC will learn to develop educational materials, disseminate this information (first, to the community and, then, nationally via the Web), and prioritize and implement advocacy projects based on our findings. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Innovation. This study of youth will be conducted by youth. We anticipate that teens who are employed by this project and conduct the research will be empowered, gain marketable skills, and will increase their interest in science, community issues, breast cancer, and the environment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 By intervening on the teens’ exposures and potentially showing a reduction in chemicals in their urine, we will identify ways for girls to reduce chemical exposures. Adolescence is a critical life-stage, not only because use of consumer products increases dramatically, but also because the body is undergoing rapid hormonal and developmental changes and exposure now may impact later breast cancer risk. In addition, by including teens in the study of exposures we are, in fact, reaching out to a larger community. We have learned that the children in this community, being more acculturated and advanced in English, are a conduit for educating parents. Thus, through youth, we hope to raise community awareness about breast cancer and chemicals in the environment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Community Involvement. The proposed study is rooted in the 15 year-old CHAMACOS community-university partnership between the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH) and Clinica de Salud del Valle Salinas (CSVS). CHAMACOS partners have engaged in extensive environmental health education activities, having reached over 15,000 area residents. The CHAMACOS project is guided by a Community Advisory Board with input from the YCC, Grower Council, and Farmworker Council. For this project, the CHAMACOS partnership will work with the YCC in conducting all phases of the study. The YCC, in partnership with CERCH and CSVS, and in consultation with other breast cancer and environmental advocacy groups, will develop education materials and strategies to reduce personal care product exposures in the Latino community based on results of the study. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Future Plans. The YCC, in partnership with CERCH and CSVS, will continue to participate in leadership and advocacy. We aim to disseminate the results of this study to local and statewide medical, health, and social service agencies involved in the health of Latino communities. We also aim to influence government and corporate policies about chemical use in personal care products with youth-driven advocacy and online social media.