scholarly journals Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis ◽  
Jean-Pierre Bourguignon ◽  
Linda C. Giudice ◽  
Russ Hauser ◽  
Gail S. Prins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Broad Class ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Breast Development ◽  
Industrial Chemicals ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Endocrine Society ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Scientific Statement

Abstract There is growing interest in the possible health threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are substances in our environment, food, and consumer products that interfere with hormone biosynthesis, metabolism, or action resulting in a deviation from normal homeostatic control or reproduction. In this first Scientific Statement of The Endocrine Society, we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology. Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health. The mechanisms of EDCs involve divergent pathways including (but not limited to) estrogenic, antiandrogenic, thyroid, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, retinoid, and actions through other nuclear receptors; steroidogenic enzymes; neurotransmitter receptors and systems; and many other pathways that are highly conserved in wildlife and humans, and which can be modeled in laboratory in vitro and in vivo models. Furthermore, EDCs represent a broad class of molecules such as organochlorinated pesticides and industrial chemicals, plastics and plasticizers, fuels, and many other chemicals that are present in the environment or are in widespread use. We make a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness.

scholarly journals Executive Summary to EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 593-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Gore ◽  
V. A. Chappell ◽  
S. E. Fenton ◽  
J. A. Flaws ◽  
A. Nadal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Male Reproduction ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Executive Summary ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Scientific Statement ◽  
Dose Responses

Abstract This Executive Summary to the Endocrine Society's second Scientific Statement on environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) provides a synthesis of the key points of the complete statement. The full Scientific Statement represents a comprehensive review of the literature on seven topics for which there is strong mechanistic, experimental, animal, and epidemiological evidence for endocrine disruption, namely: obesity and diabetes, female reproduction, male reproduction, hormone-sensitive cancers in females, prostate cancer, thyroid, and neurodevelopment and neuroendocrine systems. EDCs such as bisphenol A, phthalates, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diethyl ethers, and dioxins were emphasized because these chemicals had the greatest depth and breadth of available information. The Statement also included thorough coverage of studies of developmental exposures to EDCs, especially in the fetus and infant, because these are critical life stages during which perturbations of hormones can increase the probability of a disease or dysfunction later in life. A conclusion of the Statement is that publications over the past 5 years have led to a much fuller understanding of the endocrine principles by which EDCs act, including nonmonotonic dose-responses, low-dose effects, and developmental vulnerability. These findings will prove useful to researchers, physicians, and other healthcare providers in translating the science of endocrine disruption to improved public health.

The Role of Healthcare Professionals in Environmental Health and Fertility Decision-Making

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Sweeney
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Industrial Chemicals ◽  
Fertility Decision ◽  
Guidelines And Recommendations

There is increasing evidence that raises specific concerns about prenatal exposures to toxic substances which makes it necessary to consider everyday exposures to industrial chemicals and toxic substances in consumer products, including endocrine disrupting chemicals. Pregnant women have measurable levels of numerous toxic substances from exposures in their everyday environments, including those which are associated with adverse developmental and reproductive health outcomes. As a result, environmental contexts have begun to influence the decisions women make related to fertility, as well as the formal guidelines and advice provided by healthcare professionals. This article provides an overview of the potential role for obstetricians and gynecologists in educating their patients about the role of toxic substances in fertility decision-making and pregnancy. It explores the emerging guidelines and recommendations from professional organizations and problematizes the limitations of these approaches.

Endocrine Disruptors and Other Environmental Influences on Hormone Action

2019 ◽  
pp. 85-106
Author(s):  
Laura N. Vandenberg
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Environmental Chemicals ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Hormone Action ◽  
Hormone Synthesis ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Dose Effects ◽  
History Of

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with hormone action by altering hormone synthesis, secretion, transport in the blood, binding to receptors, metabolism, or excretion. This chapter reviews the history of EDCs and other environmental chemicals, methods used to identify EDCs, and common uses for these chemicals in consumer products. It also describes major principles of endocrinology and how these features influence the actions of EDCs. This chapter will also evaluate controversies in the study and regulation of EDCs, including the concept of “low dose effects,” the question of whether humans are exposed to EDCs at levels that can cause harm, and the determination of “safe” doses of exposure. Finally, this chapter reviews other environmental factors that can influence the health of laboratory animals and interfere with the study of EDCs.

scholarly journals Thresholds and Endocrine Disruptors: An Endocrine Society Policy Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Demeneix ◽  
Laura N Vandenberg ◽  
Richard Ivell ◽  
R Thomas Zoeller
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Standard Uncertainty ◽  
Hormone Action ◽  
Endocrine Society ◽  
Uncertainty Factors ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Adverse Effect Level ◽  
Effect Level ◽  
Development Proceeds ◽  
Regulatory Guideline

Abstract The concept of a threshold of adversity in toxicology is neither provable nor disprovable. As such, it is not a scientific question but a theoretical one. Yet, the belief in thresholds has led to traditional ways of interpreting data derived from regulatory guideline studies of the toxicity of chemicals. This includes, for example, the use of standard “uncertainty factors” when a “No Adverse Effect Level” (or similar “benchmark dose”) is either observed, or not observed. In the context of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), this approach is demonstrably inappropriate. First, the efficacy of a hormone on different endpoints can vary by several orders of magnitude. This feature of hormone action also applies to EDCs that can interfere with that hormone. For this reason, we argue that the choice of endpoint for use in regulation is critical, but note that guideline studies were not designed with this in mind. Second, the biological events controlled by hormones in development not only change as development proceeds but are different from events controlled by hormones in the adult. Again, guideline endpoints were also not designed with this in mind, especially since the events controlled by hormones can be both temporally and spatially specific. The Endocrine Society has laid out this logic over several years and in several publications. Rather than being extreme views, they represent what is known about hormones and the chemicals that can interfere with them.

Endocrine Disruptors in the Environment

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Langston
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Environmental Chemicals ◽  
Pharmaceutical Drugs ◽  
Industrial Chemicals ◽  
World War ◽  
Synthetic Chemicals ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Post War

Since World War II, the production of synthetic chemicals has increased more than 30-fold due to the post-war boom in petrochemical exploration, manufacture, and marketing. The modern chemical industry, now a global enterprise of $2 trillion annually, is central to the world economy, as it generates millions of jobs and consumes vast quantities of energy and raw materials. Today, more than 70,000 different industrial chemicals are synthesized and sold each year (Chandler 2005; McCoy et al. 2006). New technologies and methods for the detection of these synthetic chemicals have drawn increasing attention to the pervasive and persistent presence of hormone-disrupting chemicals in our lives. Hormones—the chemicals that deliver messages throughout the body in order to coordinate physical processes—are deeply sensitive to external interference, and the consequences of such interference are becoming ever more apparent. In July 2005, the Centers for Disease Control (2005) released its Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, revealing that industrial chemicals now permeate bodies and ecosystems. Many of these chemicals can interfere with the body’s hormonal signaling system (called the endocrine system), and many persistently resist the metabolic processes that bind and break down natural hormones. More than 358 industrial chemicals and pesticides have been detected in the cord blood of minority American infants (Environmental Working Group 2009). Accumulating data suggests that reproductive problems are also increasing across a broad range of animals, from Great Lakes fish to people. Many researchers suspect that the culprits are environmental exposures to synthetic chemicals that disrupt hormonal signals, particularly in the developing fetus. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are not rare; they include the most common synthetic chemicals in production, such as many pesticides, plastics, and pharmaceutical drugs. Since World War II, synthetic endocrine-disrupting chemicals have permeated bodies and ecosystems throughout the globe, potentially with profound health and ecological effects (Krimsky 2000). Hormones are chemical signals that regulate communication among cells and organs, thus orchestrating a complex process of fetal development that relies on precise dosage and timing.

scholarly journals The Exposure of Fetuses and Children to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: A European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) Call to Action Statement

2011 ◽  
Vol 96 (10) ◽  
pp. 3056-3058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels E. Skakkebaek ◽  
Jorma Toppari ◽  
Olle Söder ◽  
Catherine M. Gordon ◽  
Sara Divall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Society ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Endocrine Disrupters ◽  
World Health ◽  
Endocrine Society ◽  
Paediatric Endocrinology ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Objective: During recent years, evidence has accumulated that both wildlife species and humans are exposed to ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Some are persistent in our bodies; others are nonpersistent but are produced in large quantities. Hitherto, the bulk of research in this area has been carried out by basic and experimental scientists and wildlife researchers. Relatively few clinical scientists have been engaged in research on this topic to date. The aim of this statement is to have pediatric endocrinologists consider the issue of endocrine disrupters in their clinical work and research. Participants: Six pediatric endocrinologists who belonged to working groups on endocrine disrupters endorsed by the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) participated, including three members from each society. Meetings were limited to the members of the working groups. No funding was associated with the work. Evidence: Important data sources were publications from the World Health Organization, the European Science Foundation, and The Endocrine Society. Several of the participants have made long-standing contributions to the field of endocrine disruption. No unpublished work was considered. Consensus Process: The statement was written by the committee members together, using e-mail and phone. A draft was submitted to the Boards of the ESPE and PES. After some changes, the draft was accepted by both Boards. Conclusions: Pediatric endocrinologists are urged to be alert to the possible significance of endocrine-disrupting chemicals when assessing both clinical problems and research data where etiologies of endocrine symptoms or diseases are unknown.

scholarly journals Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Infectious Diseases: from Endocrine Disruption to Immunosuppression

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3939
Author(s):  
Elikanah Olusayo Adegoke ◽  
Md Saidur Rahman ◽  
Yoo-Jin Park ◽  
Young Ju Kim ◽  
Myung-Geol Pang
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are hormonally active compounds in the environment that interfere with the body’s endocrine system and consequently produce adverse health effects. Despite persistent public health concerns, EDCs remain important components of common consumer products, thus representing ubiquitous contaminants to humans. While scientific evidence confirmed their contribution to the severity of Influenza A virus (H1N1) in the animal model, their roles in susceptibility and clinical outcome of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cannot be underestimated. Since its emergence in late 2019, clinical reports on COVID-19 have confirmed that severe disease and death occur in persons aged ≥65 years and those with underlying comorbidities. Major comorbidities of COVID-19 include diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and kidney and liver diseases. Meanwhile, long-term exposure to EDCs contributes significantly to the onset and progression of these comorbid diseases. Besides, EDCs play vital roles in the disruption of the body’s immune system. Here, we review the recent literature on the roles of EDCs in comorbidities contributing to COVID-19 mortality, impacts of EDCs on the immune system, and recent articles linking EDCs to COVID-19 risks. We also recommend methodologies that could be adopted to comprehensively study the role of EDCs in COVID-19 risk.

scholarly journals Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Sources, Effects And Treatments

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Aqeel Ashraf ◽  
Mesmire Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Environmental Chemicals ◽  
United Nations Environment Programme ◽  
World Health ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Endocrine Society ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
International Experts

AbstractHormonal changes in humans and animals can be attributed to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Studies have found that excessive exposure to natural and artificial environmental chemicals and toxins can have adverse effects on the endocrine system and reproductive health. The endocrine system creates and releases hormones that regulate the development of organs and how they function. Any disruption to hormones affects the development and functioning of the reproductive system, the brain and the neurological system. Research and reports on the subject have been published by international experts and organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Labour Organization (ILO) and Endocrine Society. To fully comprehend the effect of EDCs on humans and wildlife, it is essential to understand epigenetics and its transgenerational effects on hormone development. Here, we extensively explore and review the research on the sources of EDCs, their effects and why exposure to EDCs is of concern, and treatments for EDC exposure.

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