Endocrine Disruptors from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Blog sourced from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
"Endocrine Disruptors"
Many chemicals, both natural and man-made, may mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones, known as the endocrine system. Called endocrine disruptors, these chemicals are linked with developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems.
Endocrine disruptors are found in many everyday products, including some plastic bottles and containers, liners of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.
Some endocrine-disrupting chemicals are slow to break-down in the environment. That characteristic makes them potentially hazardous over time.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals cause adverse effects in animals. But limited scientific information exists on potential health problems in humans. Because people are typically exposed to multiple endocrine disruptors at the same time, assessing public health effects is difficult.
What are some common endocrine disruptors?
- Bisphenol A (BPA) — used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, which are found in many plastic products including food storage containers
- Dioxins — produced as a byproduct in herbicide production and paper bleaching, they are also released into the environment during waste burning and wildfires
- Perchlorate — a by-product of aerospace, weapon, and pharmaceutical industries found in drinking water and fireworks
- Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) — used widely in industrial applications, such as firefighting foams and non-stick pan, paper, and textile coatings
- Phthalates — used to make plastics more flexible, they are also found in some food packaging, cosmetics, children’s toys, and medical devices
- Phytoestrogens — naturally occurring substances in plants that have hormone-like activity, such as genistein and daidzein that are in soy products, like tofu or soy milk
- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) — used to make flame retardants for household products such as furniture foam and carpets
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) — used to make electrical equipment like transformers, and in hydraulic fluids, heat transfer fluids, lubricants, and plasticizers
- Triclosan — may be found in some anti-microbial and personal care products, like liquid body wash
How do people encounter endocrine-disrupting chemicals?
People may be exposed to endocrine disruptors through food and beverages consumed, pesticides applied, and cosmetics used. In essence, your contact with these chemicals may occur through diet, air, skin, and water.
Even low doses of endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be unsafe. The body’s normal endocrine functioning involves very small changes in hormone levels, yet we know even these small changes can cause significant developmental and biological effects. This observation leads scientists to think that endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures, even at low amounts, can alter the body’s sensitive systems and lead to health problems.
What Is NIEHS Doing?
For more than three decades, NIEHS has been a pioneer in conducting research on the health effects of endocrine disruptors. NIEHS-supported research leads to a greater understanding of how endocrine-disrupting chemicals may harm our health and cause disease.
This work began with studies on the endocrine-disrupting effects of the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES). From 1940s through 1970s, DES was used to treat women with high-risk pregnancies, with the mistaken belief that it prevented miscarriage. In 1972, prenatal exposure to DES was linked to the development of a rare form of vaginal cancer in daughters whose mothers took DES, and with numerous noncancerous changes in both sons and daughters. NIEHS experiments on DES successfully replicated and predicted health problems, which was useful in discovering how DES may harm wellbeing.
NIEHS was involved in developing a consensus statement in 2019 on the key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which provides a framework to help scientists evaluate potential endocrine disruptors.
Read more from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
“Even low doses of endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be unsafe.”
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Frequently asked
What are endocrine disruptors?
Where are endocrine disruptors found?
Are small amounts of endocrine disruptors harmful?
References
- Endocrine Disruptors— National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- Consensus on the key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as a basis for hazard identification— La Merrill et al., Nature Reviews Endocrinology (2020)
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