Environmental estrogens shape disease susceptibility.

Ruiqi Zheng, Yi Zhang, Shujun Cheng, Ting Xiao

International journal of hygiene and environmental health 2023 Apr

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Along with industrialization, the environment is flooded with endocrine-disrupting chemicals, among which substances with estrogenic effects have attracted widespread attention in medical research. In terms of molecular mechanism, environmental estrogens can cause endocrine and metabolic disorders; interfere with multiple carcinogenic pathways; and lead to neurobehavioral disorders, reproductive toxicity, and multi- or trans-generational phenotypic abnormalities. However, many of the results from molecular and animal experiments were not supported by epidemiology, which may be related to the existence of a window of sensitivity to environmental estrogen exposure over the human life course, where the consequences of exposure vary greatly from other times. This paper will introduce the main sources of environmental estrogens, their toxicity and mechanisms of action, the status of research on several representative types, and current monitoring and treatment methods. We also discussed the extent of the risks to human health dialectically in the context of laboratory and epidemiological findings, with a view to better addressing these chemicals to which we are constantly exposed. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Citation

Ruiqi Zheng, Yi Zhang, Shujun Cheng, Ting Xiao. Environmental estrogens shape disease susceptibility. International journal of hygiene and environmental health. 2023 Apr;249:114125