Environmental Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Exposure: Role in Non-Communicable Diseases

Abstract

The exponential growth of pollutant discharges into the environment due to increasing industrial and agricultural activities is a rising threat for human health and a biggest concern for environmental health globally. Several synthetic chemicals, categorized as potential environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are evident to affect the health of not only livestock and wildlife but also humankind. In recent years, human exposure to environmental EDCs has received increased awareness due to their association with altered human health as documented by several epidemiological and experimental studies. EDCs are associated with deleterious effects on male and female reproductive health; causes diabetes, obesity, metabolic disorders, thyroid homeostasis and increase the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers. Sewage effluents are a major source of several EDCs, which eventually reach large water bodies and potentially contaminate the drinking water supply. Similarly, water storage material such as different types of plastics also leaches out EDCs in drinking Water. Domestic wastewater containing pharmaceutical ingredients, metals, pesticides and personal care product additives also influences endocrine activity. These EDCs act via various receptors through a variety of known and unknown mechanisms including epigenetic modification. They differ from classic toxins in several ways such as low-dose effect, non-monotonic dose and trans-generational effects. This review aims to highlight the hidden burden of EDCs on human health and discusses the non-classical toxic properties of EDCs in an attempt to understand the magnitude of the exposome on human health. Present data on the environmental EDCs advocate that there may be associations between human exposure to EDCs and several undesirable health outcomes that warrants further human bio-monitoring of EDCs.

Thyroid hormone regulates abrupt skin morphogenesis during zebrafish postembryonic development

“…Beyond informing our understanding of endocrine regulation during post-embryonic skin development, our work has potential implications for environmental toxicology. Ever increasing discharge of endocrine disrupting pollutants is a pressing concern that affects natural environments and human health (Kumar et al, 2020). Although analytical chemistry methods are very sensitive in detecting endocrine disrupting compounds in environmental samples, these methods require advanced instrumentation and sophisticated sample preparation.…”

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in the pathogenesis of hypospadias; developmental and toxicological perspectives

“…However, systemic reviews and meta-analyses focusing on human studies have demonstrated inconsistent results ( Kahn et al, 2020 , Lee, 2018 ). While the ability of EDCs to promote adverse modifications of endocrine homeostasis in human and wildlife raises serious concerns about their potential health impact, uncertainty remains around a definitive link between EDCs and reproductive disorders and mechanistic links between the two ( Bergman et al, 2013 , Bergman et al, 2015 , Combarnous and Nguyen, 2019 , Dietrich et al, 2013 , Gore et al, 2013 , Kortenkamp et al, 2012 , Kumar et al, 2020 , Lamb et al, 2015 , Rhomberg et al, 2012 , Zoeller et al, 2014 ). Swaen et al ( Swaen et al, 2018 ) argue that profound changes in human reproduction have a major impact on the incidence of reproductive disorders.…”

The Association of Bisphenol A and Phthalates with Risk of Breast Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

“…In fact, a number of EDCs have been increasingly reported to be linked with human health problems especially female reproductive disorders in recent years [ 19 ]. Results from several literature indicated that BPA and phthalates played negative roles in thyroid function on the basis of different thyroid hormone levels [ 20 , 21 ].…”

“…Furthermore, BPA and phthalates—as oestrogen-mimicking EDCs—are thought to be responsible for inducing the occurrence and progression of many oestrogen-dependent cancers by binding to oestrogenic receptors, which are important evolution-related transcription factors related to many critical biological processes. Such actions probably play a considerable role in human breast carcinogenesis [ 19 , 31 ]. Amongst the multitudinous hormone-dependent cancers related to BPA and phthalates exposure, breast cancer is the most important issue that should be placed more attention.…”