24 research outputs found
Environmental influences on reproductive health: the importance of chemical exposures
Chemical exposures during pregnancy can have a profound and life-long impact on human health. Due to the omnipresence of chemicals in our daily life, there is continuous contact with chemicals in food, water, air and consumer products. Consequently, human biomonitoring studies show that pregnant women around the globe are exposed to a variety of chemicals. In this review, we provide a summary of current data on maternal and fetal exposure as well as health consequences from these exposures. We review several chemical classes including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), phenols, phthalates, pesticides, and metals. Additionally, we discuss environmental disparities and vulnerable populations, and future research directions. We conclude by providing some recommendations for prevention of chemical exposure and its adverse reproductive health consequences
Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants with Endocrine Activity and Blood Steroid Hormone Levels in Middle- Aged Men
Abstract
Background: Studies relating long-term exposure to persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) with endocrine activities
(endocrine disrupting chemicals) on circulating levels of steroid hormones have been limited to a small number of
hormones and reported conflicting results.
Objective: We examined the relationship between serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone
sulphate, androstenedione, androstenediol, testosterone, free and bioavailable testosterone, dihydrotestosterone,
estrone, estrone sulphate, estradiol, sex-hormone binding globulin, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone
as a function of level of exposure to three POPs known to interfere with hormone-regulated processes in different way:
dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (DDE), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener 153, and chlordecone.
Methods: We collected fasting, morning serum samples from 277 healthy, non obese, middle-aged men from the French
West Indies. Steroid hormones were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, except for dehydroepiandrosterone
sulphate, which was determined by immunological assay, as were the concentrations of sex-hormone binding
globulin, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. Associations were assessed by multiple linear regression
analysis, controlling for confounding factors, in a backward elimination procedure, in multiple bootstrap samples.
Results: DDE exposure was negatively associated to dihydrotestosterone level and positively associated to luteinizing
hormone level. PCB 153 was positively associated to androstenedione and estrone levels. No association was found for
chlordecone.
Conclusions: These results suggested that the endocrine response pattern, estimated by determining blood levels of
steroid hormones, varies depending on the POPs studied, possibly reflecting differences in the modes of action generally
attributed to these compounds. It remains to be investigated whether this response pattern is predictive of the subsequent
occurrence of disease