Chemical exposures and bone health during adolescence

Endocrine disrupting chemical mixtures and bone health in adolescence

NIH-funded research Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11115714

This project looks at whether common chemical exposures affect bone growth and strength in teenagers.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniv of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Chapel Hill, United States)
Project IDNIH-11115714 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You would be part of a long-term birth cohort followed since pregnancy, and researchers will invite about 225 participants back at around age 17 for a follow-up visit. They will measure levels of common endocrine-disrupting chemicals (like PFAS, phthalates, and organophosphate esters) in blood or urine and perform bone scans to measure bone density and strength. The team will analyze how individual chemicals and mixtures relate to bone accrual during adolescence and use past measurements from earlier visits to track changes over time. The visit will include sample collection, imaging, and health questionnaires.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are adolescents around age 17 who were enrolled in the HOME Study or are willing to provide blood/urine samples and undergo bone imaging.

Not a fit: Very young children, older adults, or people not enrolled in the original cohort are unlikely to be eligible or directly benefit from participating.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If the project shows certain chemicals harm teen bone development, it could help prevent fractures and guide policies or advice to protect adolescents' long-term bone health.

How similar studies have performed: Laboratory studies and some smaller human studies have linked these chemicals to lower bone density, and preliminary data from age-12 follow-up support the approach, but longitudinal adolescent data are limited.

Where this research is happening

Chapel Hill, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.