HoldsUp

Shanna Swan

Dr. Shanna Swan is a researcher specializing in environmental health and epidemiology. Her published work focuses on the effects of environmental chemical exposures, such as phthalates and plastics, on fertility, pregnancy, and fetal development. Additionally, her research examines associations between prenatal maternal factors and exposures with childhood health outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and asthma.

28 claims checked on air: 3 context 1 overstated 23 supported 1 unverified

What they said on air - context

4 citing their own research

0:17:20needs contextlowtheir own paperMicroplastics Are Inside Your Body Right Now — Here's What T

Women with higher urinary levels of phthalates reported lower sexual satisfaction and lower sexual frequency.

"in one of our studies, we asked women about their sexual satisfaction and frequency, and women who had higher levels of phthalates had lower satisfaction and lower frequency." (said at 0:17:20)

The speaker is referring to research from their group (Barrett, Swan et al., 2014, in the Study for Future Families cohort, n = 360). The study evaluated self-reported sexual dysfunction in premenopausal women and found that women in the highest quartile of urinary di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites had significantly higher odds of reporting frequent lack of sexual interest/desire (adjusted OR ~2.6), though other dimensions like vaginal dryness showed no significant association. While the finding specifically demonstrated reduced sexual desire/interest rather than explicitly measuring sexual satisfaction and frequency as separate validated endpoints, the core observation of endocrine-disrupting phthalates correlating with impaired female sexual function is consistent with their cohort's published findings.

0:39:40needs contextvery lowtheir own paperMicroplastics Are Inside Your Body Right Now — Here's What T

In a 3-month plastic detox intervention pilot study of infertile couples, three out of five couples achieved pregnancy.

"And then we have um several pregnancies as well. Um and um three three of the five... These were absolutely couples that had tried for more than a year, some as much as 10 years to get pregnant." (said at 0:39:40)

The claim refers to 'The Plastic Detox' study, a 3-month uncontrolled feasibility pilot study of 5 idiopathically infertile couples undergoing a lifestyle intervention to reduce endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure. The published trial actually reported that four (rather than three) out of the five couples achieved pregnancy and live birth during follow-up. However, because this was a tiny feasibility study (N=5 couples) without a control group, the study authors emphasize that pregnancy outcomes are strictly descriptive and cannot prove that the intervention caused or contributed to the pregnancies.

0:41:54needs contextmoderateMicroplastics Are Inside Your Body Right Now — Here's What T

Phthalates lower testosterone levels, while bisphenols raise estrogen levels.

"One of them, the phthalates, makes plastic soft and flexible and it lowers testosterone, and the other one makes plastic hard, firm, hard and raises estrogen." (said at 0:41:54)

The speaker's summary broadly reflects the classic endocrine-disrupting profiles of these plasticizers, though with a nuance regarding mechanism: phthalates are well-documented antiandrogens that suppress steroidogenesis and correlate with lower testosterone levels, whereas bisphenols (such as bisphenol A) primarily act as xenoestrogens by binding and activating estrogen receptors (mimicking estrogenic activity) rather than simply increasing circulating endogenous estrogen concentrations in every context. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses demonstrate that phthalate exposure (notably DEHP) is inversely associated with total testosterone and androgen indices in men, while bisphenols act as estrogen receptor agonists and disrupt hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal signaling.

Fact-checked episodes

Publications