Some evidence of effects of environmental chemicals on the endocrine system in children

Abstract

Pollutant chemicals that are widespread in the environment can affect endocrine function in laboratory experiments and in wildlife. Although human beings are commonly exposed to such pollutant chemicals, the exposures are generally low and clear effects on endocrine function from such exposures have been difficult to demonstrate. Human data including both exposure to the chemical agent and the endocrine outcome are reviewed here, including age at weaning, age at puberty, anogenital distance, and sex ratio at birth, and the strength of the evidence discussed. Although endocrine disruption in humans by pollutant chemicals remains largely undemonstrated, the underlying science is sound and the potential for such effects is real.

Mean Age of Menarche in Trinidad and Its Relationship to Body Mass Index, Ethinicity and Mothers Age of Menarche

“…It had been suspected that the decline in the age of menarche over the years was due to improved standard of living. However recent studies have implicated endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment as being responsible for this trend [19,[21][22][23] . Girls with high levels of lead in their blood had delayed menarche in US while exposure to dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), has been reported to decrease the age of menarche [35][36] .…”

“…In these girls significantly high levels of phthalates and their major metabolites were identified in 68% of patients with premature thelarche, while less than 1% of controls had high levels of these chemicals [20] . The evidence of environmental chemicals as chemical disrupting agents has been reported [21] , while the effect of estrogenic agents on pubertal growth and maturation of the reproductive system has been reported in rhesus monkeys [22] . Endocrine-disrupting chemicals from the environment are now recognized as one of the causes of reduced age of menarche in girls migrating to industrialized countries [23] .…”

PBBs, PBDEs, and PCBs levels in hair of residents around e-waste disassembly sites in Zhejiang Province, China, and their potential sources

“…Although the toxic effects of PHAHs may not be evident even from high level exposure, the local residents might have already been suffering from (or subjected to) certain subclinical effects from exposure to these compounds. Adverse health effects (such as carcinogenicity, developmental defects, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity) induced by PHAHs in the three study subfamilies have been reported in humans (Safe,1994;Rogan and Ragan, 2003) and other species (US ATSDR, 2004;UNEP, 2006;POPRC, 2007a,b). Therefore, further research is needed into the long-term health impacts of chronic exposure to PHAHs for those Chinese residents who spend much of their time around an e-waste disassembly site.…”

Prenatal exposures to persistent organic pollutants as measured in cord blood and meconium from three localities of Zhejiang, China

“…Although the toxic effects of POP exposure may not be evident at birth even at high levels, its subclinical toxicity in the fetus is always a possibility. Toxicities caused by transplacental passage to PCBs have been reported in humans (Jacobson et al, 1984;Rogan and Ragan, 2003) and other species (Allen et al, 1974;Haake et al, 1987). Therefore, further research is needed into the health impacts of prenatal exposure to POPs in China and other countries.…”