EHP Announces 2009 Paper of the Year

Newswise — In the June issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), editor-in-chief Hugh A. Tilson announced that the EHP 2009 Paper of the Year is "Decrease in Anogenital Distance among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure," written by Shanna H. Swan, Katharina M. Main, Fan Liu, Sara L. Stewart, Robin L. Kruse, Antonia M. Calafat, Catherine S. Mao, J. Bruce Redmon, Christine L. Ternand, Shannon Sullivan, J. Lynn Teague and the Study for Future Families Research Team.

The study, originally published in August 2005, is one of the most highly cited EHP articles of all time, with an average of 42.6 citings per year between 2005 and 2009. This study was the first to examine anogenital distance and other genital measurements in relation to prenatal exposure to phthalates in humans, and the first to show an association between pregnant women's exposure to phthalates and adverse effects on genital development in their male babies.

The article has also had an impact in the legislative realm. It was discussed and documented in numerous congressional hearings, including the June 2008 House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing, and has also been cited heavily in support of regulations introduced or passed in 15 states. The anogenital distance measure developed by Swan and colleagues is now being incorporated into multiple ongoing studies, including the congressionally mandated National Children's Study.

"We are pleased to receive EHP's award for Paper of the Year," said Swan. "We are particularly honored to be among the top five most cited EHP articles over the last five years, and to be in the company with this prestigious group of other researchers and scientists."

EHP's Paper of the Year award, now in its second year, recognizes preeminent contributions to the environmental health sciences and is given to authors of articles receiving the most citations over the preceding 60 months.

Hugh A. Tilson, PhD, EHP editor-in-chief said, "The Paper of the Year award was developed to reinforce the high quality of articles published in EHP, reveal trends in emerging research themes and track the impact of groundbreaking research."

EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. EHP is an Open Access journal. More information is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/. Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing handles marketing and public relations for the publication, and is responsible for creation and distribution of this press release.