Editing Endocrine disruptor (section)

{{short description|Chemicals that can interfere with endocrine or hormonal systems}}
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[[File:NonylphenolEstradiol.svg|250px|thumb|A comparison of the structures of the natural estrogen hormone [[estradiol]] (left) and one of the [[nonylphenol|nonyl-phenols]] (right), a xenoestrogen endocrine disruptor]]
'''Endocrine disruptors''', sometimes also referred to as '''hormonally active agents''',<ref name="pmid11795392">{{cite journal | vauthors = Krimsky S | title = An epistemological inquiry into the endocrine disruptor thesis | journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | volume = 948 | issue = 1 | pages = 130–142 | date = December 2001 | pmid = 11795392 | doi = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03994.x | s2cid = 41532171 | bibcode = 2001NYASA.948..130K }}</ref> '''endocrine disrupting chemicals''',<ref name="pmid19502515">{{cite journal | vauthors = Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Bourguignon JP, Giudice LC, Hauser R, Prins GS, Soto AM, Zoeller RT, Gore AC | title = Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: an Endocrine Society scientific statement | journal = Endocrine Reviews | volume = 30 | issue = 4 | pages = 293–342 | date = June 2009 | pmid = 19502515 | pmc = 2726844 | doi = 10.1210/er.2009-0002 | url = http://www.endo-society.org/journals/scientificstatements/upload/edc_scientific_statement.pdf | access-date = 26 September 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090929004630/http://www.endo-society.org/journals/ScientificStatements/upload/EDC_Scientific_Statement.pdf | archive-date = 29 September 2009 }}</ref> or '''endocrine disrupting compounds'''<ref name="urlEndocrine Disrupting Compounds">{{cite web | url = http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/impacts/endocrine.cfm | title = Endocrine Disrupting Compounds | publisher = National Institutes of Health · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090924000314/http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/impacts/endocrine.cfm | archive-date = 24 September 2009 }}</ref> are chemicals that can interfere with [[endocrine]] (or [[Hormone|hormonal]]) systems.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Casals-Casas C, Desvergne B | title = Endocrine disruptors: from endocrine to metabolic disruption | journal = Annual Review of Physiology | volume = 73 | issue = 1 | pages = 135–162 | date = 17 March 2011 | pmid = 21054169 | doi = 10.1146/annurev-physiol-012110-142200 }}</ref> These disruptions can cause numerous adverse human health outcomes, including alterations in sperm quality and fertility; abnormalities in sex organs‚ [[endometriosis]]‚ [[Precocious puberty|early puberty]]‚ altered nervous system or immune function; certain cancers; respiratory problems; metabolic issues; diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular problems; growth, neurological and learning disabilities, and more.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 January 2022 |title=Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) |url=https://www.endocrine.org/patient-engagement/endocrine-library/edcs |access-date=20 September 2023 |website=www.endocrine.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Staff |publisher=NIEHS |date=5 June 2013 |url=http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/ |title=Endocrine Disruptors}}</ref> Found in many household and industrial products, endocrine disruptors "interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, action, or elimination of natural [[hormone]]s in the body that are responsible for development, behavior, fertility, and maintenance of [[homeostasis]] (normal cell metabolism)."<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, Heindel JJ, Jacobs DR, Lee DH, Shioda T, Soto AM, vom Saal FS, Welshons WV, Zoeller RT, Myers JP | title = Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses | journal = Endocrine Reviews | volume = 33 | issue = 3 | pages = 378–455 | date = June 2012 | pmid = 22419778 | pmc = 3365860 | doi = 10.1210/er.2011-1050 }}</ref><ref name="pmid9539004">{{cite journal | vauthors = Crisp TM, Clegg ED, Cooper RL, Wood WP, Anderson DG, Baetcke KP, Hoffmann JL, Morrow MS, Rodier DJ, Schaeffer JE, Touart LW, Zeeman MG, Patel YM | title = Environmental endocrine disruption: an effects assessment and analysis | journal = Environmental Health Perspectives | volume = 106 | issue = Suppl 1 | pages = 11–56 | date = February 1998 | pmid = 9539004 | pmc = 1533291 | doi = 10.2307/3433911 | series = 106 | jstor = 3433911 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Huang AC, Nelson C, Elliott JE, Guertin DA, Ritland C, Drouillard K, Cheng KM, Schwantje HM | title = River otters (Lontra canadensis) "trapped" in a coastal environment contaminated with persistent organic pollutants: Demographic and physiological consequences | journal = Environmental Pollution | volume = 238 | pages = 306–316 | date = July 2018 | pmid = 29573713 | doi = 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.035 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2018EPoll.238..306H }}</ref>

Any system in the body controlled by [[hormone]]s can be derailed by hormone disruptors. Specifically, endocrine disruptors may be associated with the development of [[learning disabilities]], severe [[attention deficit disorder]], and [[cognitive]] and brain development problems.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Eskenazi B, Chevrier J, Rauch SA, Kogut K, Harley KG, Johnson C, Trujillo C, Sjödin A, Bradman A | title = In utero and childhood polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) exposures and neurodevelopment in the CHAMACOS study | journal = Environmental Health Perspectives | volume = 121 | issue = 2 | pages = 257–62 | date = February 2013 | pmid = 23154064 | pmc = 3569691 | doi = 10.1289/ehp.1205597 | bibcode = 2013EnvHP.121..257E }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jurewicz J, Hanke W | title = Exposure to phthalates: reproductive outcome and children health. A review of epidemiological studies | journal = International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health | volume = 24 | issue = 2 | pages = 115–41 | date = June 2011 | pmid = 21594692 | doi = 10.2478/s13382-011-0022-2 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bornehag CG, Engdahl E, Unenge Hallerbäck M, Wikström S, Lindh C, Rüegg J, Tanner E, Gennings C | title = Prenatal exposure to bisphenols and cognitive function in children at 7 years of age in the Swedish SELMA study | journal = Environment International | volume = 150 | pages = 106433 | date = May 2021 | pmid = 33637302 | doi = 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106433 | s2cid = 232064637 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2021EnInt.15006433B }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Repouskou A, Papadopoulou AK, Panagiotidou E, Trichas P, Lindh C, Bergman Å, Gennings C, Bornehag CG, Rüegg J, Kitraki E, Stamatakis A | title = Long term transcriptional and behavioral effects in mice developmentally exposed to a mixture of endocrine disruptors associated with delayed human neurodevelopment | journal = Scientific Reports | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | pages = 9367 | date = June 2020 | pmid = 32518293 | pmc = 7283331 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-020-66379-x | bibcode = 2020NatSR..10.9367R }}</ref>

There has been controversy over endocrine disruptors, with some groups calling for swift action by regulators to remove them from the market, and regulators and other scientists calling for further study.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lupu D, Andersson P, Bornehag CG, Demeneix B, Fritsche E, Gennings C, Lichtensteiger W, Leist M, Leonards PE, Ponsonby AL, Scholze M, Testa G, Tresguerres JA, Westerink RH, Zalc B, Rüegg J | title = The ENDpoiNTs Project: Novel Testing Strategies for Endocrine Disruptors Linked to Developmental Neurotoxicity | journal = International Journal of Molecular Sciences | volume = 21 | issue = 11 | pages = 3978 | date = June 2020 | pmid = 32492937 | pmc = 7312023 | doi = 10.3390/ijms21113978 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Some endocrine disruptors have been identified and removed from the market (for example, a drug called [[diethylstilbestrol]]), but it is uncertain whether some endocrine disruptors on the market actually harm humans and wildlife at the doses to which wildlife and humans are exposed. The [[World Health Organization]] published a 2012 report stating that low-level exposures may cause adverse effects in humans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=State of the science of endocrine disrupting chemicals|date= 2012 |url=https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789241505031 |access-date=20 October 2023 |publisher=World Health Organization |language=en}}</ref>