Tag: Endocrine Society

Hormone-disrupting activity of fracking chemicals worse than initially found

Fracking Chemicals Can Cause Endocrine Disruption and Illness

This post content was published by The Endocrine Society, Hormone Science to Health.

fracking-Operation image
There is mounting data to suggest that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can have adverse affects on the environment. A new study, however, suggests that populations living close to fracking sites also have a higher incidence of health complications.

Chicago, IL – Many chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can disrupt not only the human body’s reproductive hormones but also the glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone receptors, which are necessary to maintain good health, a new study finds. The results were presented Monday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago.

“Among the chemicals that the fracking industry has reported using most often, all 24 that we have tested block the activity of one or more important hormone receptors,” said the study’s presenting author, Christopher Kassotis, a PhD student at the University of Missouri, Columbia. “The high levels of hormone disruption by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that we measured, have been associated with many poor health outcomes, such as infertility, cancer and birth defects.”

Hydraulic fracturing is the process of injecting numerous chemicals and millions of gallons of water deep underground under high pressure to fracture hard rock and release trapped natural gas and oil. Kassotis said spills of wastewater could contaminate surface and ground water.

In earlier research, this group found that water samples collected from sites with documented fracking spills in Garfield County, Colorado, had moderate to high levels of EDC activity that mimicked or blocked the effects of the female hormones (estrogens) and the male hormones (androgens) in human cells. However, water in areas away from these gas-drilling sites showed little EDC activity on these two reproductive hormones.

The new study extended the analysis to learn whether high-use fracking chemicals changed other key hormone receptors besides the estrogen and androgen receptors. (Receptors are proteins in cells that the hormone binds to in order to perform its function.) Specifically, the researchers also looked at the receptor for a female reproductive hormone, progesterone, as well as those for glucocorticoid—a hormone important to the immune system, which also plays a role in reproduction and fertility—and for thyroid hormone. The latter hormone helps control metabolism, normal brain development and other functions needed for good health.

Among 24 common fracking chemicals that Kassotis and his colleagues repeatedly tested for EDC activity in human cells, 20 blocked the estrogen receptor, preventing estrogen from binding to the receptor and being able to have its natural biological response, he reported. In addition, 17 chemicals inhibited the androgen receptor, 10 hindered the progesterone receptor, 10 blocked the glucocorticoid receptor and 7 inhibited the thyroid hormone receptor.

Kassotis cautioned that they have not measured these chemicals in local water samples, and it is likely that the high chemical concentrations tested would not show up in drinking water near drilling. However, he said mixtures of these chemicals act together to make their hormone-disrupting effects worse than any one chemical alone, and tested drinking water normally contains mixtures of EDCs.

“We don’t know what the adverse health consequences might be in humans and animals exposed to these chemicals,” Kassotis said, “but infants and children would be most vulnerable because they are smaller, and infants lack the ability to break down these chemicals.”

His study received funding from the Passport Foundation Science Innovation Fund, the University of Missouri, and from the Environmental Protection Agency, through a STAR predoctoral fellowship awarded to Kassotis.

More information

  • Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Oil and Natural Gas Operations: Potential Environmental Contamination and Recommendations to Assess Complex Environmental Mixtures, ehp, 27 August 2015.
  • Fracking Chemicals Can Cause Endocrine Disruption and Illness, Says Study, triplepundit, Sep 21st, 2015.

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: an Endocrine Society Scientific Statement

EDCs, The Endocrine Society, 2009

EDC_Scientific_Statement- cover image
In 2009, The Endocrine Society made a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness.

There is growing interest in the possible health threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are substances in our environment, food, and consumer products that interfere with hormone biosynthesis, metabolism, or action resulting in a deviation from normal homeostatic control or reproduction.

In this first Scientific Statement of The Endocrine Society , we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology.

Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health. The mechanisms of EDCs involve divergent pathways including (but not limited to) estrogenic, antiandrogenic, thyroid, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, retinoid, and actions through other nuclear receptors; steroidogenic enzymes; neurotransmitter receptors and systems; and many other pathways that are highly conserved in wildlife and humans, and which can be modeled in laboratory in vitro and in vivo models. Furthermore, EDCs represent a broad class of molecules such as organochlorinated pesticides and industrial chemicals, plastics and plasticizers, fuels, and many other chemicals that are present in the environment or are in widespread use.

We make a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness.

Accepted: April 17, 2009 – First Published Online: July 01, 2013.

Sources and more information
  • Flickr album DES and EDCs Research.
  • EDC-2: The Endocrine Society’s Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, DOI: 10.1210/er.2015-1010, November 06, 2015.
  • Executive Summary to EDC-2: The Endocrine Society’s Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, DOI: 10.1210/er.2015-1093, September 28, 2015.
  • Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement, NCBI PMCID: PMC2726844, doi: 10.1210/er.2009-0002, June 2009.

BPA linked to MIH tooth enamel abnormality in children

BPA Harms Dental Enamel in Young Animals, Mimicking Human Tooth Defect

children-smile
The researchers report that BPA stimulates ameloblast proliferation. Its mechanism of action is not entirely exerted through ERα in these cells especially on gene expression modulations, indicating that there are other additional pathways affected by BPA. Researchers also demonstrate, for the first time, that dental epithelial cells are estrogen targets and that an increase in proestrogenic activity has a greater effect on the enamel in male than in female rats. Researchers thus provide evidence of hormonal influence on amelogenesis and probably on sexual differences of enamel quality. Image by Sam Antonio Photography.

Endocrine Society – Hormone Science to Health – release: BPA Harms Dental Enamel in Young Animals, Mimicking Human Tooth Defect

San Diego, CA – A tooth enamel abnormality in children, molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH), may result from exposure to the industrial chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), authors of a new study conclude after finding similar damage to the dental enamel of rats that received BPA. The study – Estrogen and Bisphenol A Affect Male Rat Enamel Formation and Promote Ameloblast Proliferation – results was presented at the Endocrine Society’s 97th annual meeting in San Diego.

“Human enamel defects may be used as an early marker of exposure to BPA and similar-acting endocrine disruptors,” Babajko said.

BPA is an endocrine disruptor, or hormone-altering chemical, that has been linked to numerous adverse health effects in humans. It appears in many plastic and resin household products and food containers, including until recently baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula packages.

Dental enamel is the hard covering protecting the teeth. MIH causes white or brown opaque spots on an affected child’s permanent first molars and incisors (the middle four teeth on the top and bottom), which become sensitive, painful and prone to cavities. Recent published data show that MIH affects up to 18 percent of children ages 6 to 9 years. Although the cause is unclear, it appears to have an environmental origin, according to the study authors.

In the first part of the study, Sylvie Babajko, PhD, a researcher at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Paris, and her colleagues gave rats low doses of BPA, comparable to exposure in humans. The rats received BPA from fetal life to 30 days after birth. She said BPA caused enamel defects similar to MIH in humans, especially in male rats.

In part 2 of the study, the investigators cultured and looked at rat ameloblast cells, which are present only during the formation of tooth enamel, called amelogenesis. In humans, amelogenesis takes place from the third trimester of fetal development to 3 or 4 years after birth. This cell-based experiment showed that sex hormones target and influence dental epithelial cells.

“Our study shows, for the first time, that BPA affects dental cells, and subsequently enamel synthesis, using similar target molecules as those present in other organs,” Babajko said.

She explained that these molecules are receptors for sex steroid hormones involved in organ development, endocrine homeostasis and hormone-sensitive cancers.

Babajko reported that an increase in estrogen activity had a greater effect on the tooth enamel in male rats than in female rats. This finding, she said, suggests possible sexual differences in enamel quality.

This work was funded by INSERM, the University Paris-Diderot and the French Institute of Odontological Research (IFRO).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula packaging in 2012.

Medical experts call for improvements in estrogen testing methods

Measuring Estrogen Exposure and Metabolism: Workshop Recommendations on Clinical Issues

Measuring-Estrogen-Exposure image
Accurate data on patients’ estrogen levels are needed to ensure appropriate and effective patient care, reduce the need for retesting, and enable clinicians to implement the latest research in patient care, Research studies, however, found high inaccuracies among different estrogen tests, especially when the test is measuring low estrogen levels in postmenopausal women, men and children.

Endocrine Society – Hormone Science to Health – release: Panel Recommends Improvements in Estrogen Testing Accuracy

Washington, DC – Unreliable estrogen measurements have had a negative impact on the treatment of and research into many hormone-related cancers and chronic conditions. To improve patient care, a panel of medical experts has called for accurate, standardized estrogen testing methods in a statement – Measuring Estrogen Exposure and Metabolism: Workshop Recommendations on Clinical Issues – published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

The panel’s recommendations are the first to address how improved testing methods can affect clinical care, and were developed based on discussions at an estrogen measurement workshop hosted by the Endocrine Society, AACC and the Partnership for Accurate Testing of Hormones (PATH).

Estrogen is primarily produced in the ovaries and is also produced in small amounts by the adrenal glands, which is why men as well as women have estrogen in their bodies. It is critical for fertility in women, and also plays a role in many health conditions, from precocious puberty to cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate and liver. Accurate blood tests for estrogen are necessary to diagnose patients with these conditions and ensure they receive appropriate, effective treatment. Many medical studies also rely on estrogen tests, such as research assessing the connection between estrogen levels and the risk of breast or prostate cancer.

“Accurate data on patients’ estrogen levels are needed to ensure appropriate and effective patient care, reduce the need for retesting, and enable clinicians to implement the latest research in patient care,” said one of the authors and co-chair of the PATH Steering Committee, Hubert Vesper, PhD. “Research studies, however, found high inaccuracies among different estrogen tests, especially when the test is measuring low estrogen levels in postmenopausal women, men and children.”

The expert panel called for improving the accuracy of measurements through standardization, and recommended clinicians, researchers and public health officials support standardization programs like CDC’s and other efforts to ensure estrogen measurement is accurate and consistent.

The panel also advised clinicians and researchers to consider the purpose of the test when selecting an estrogen measurement method. Clinicians and researchers currently use several methods to measure estrogen, including mass spectrometry and immunoassays. The experts agreed both methods are valid, but that one may be more effective than the other depending on the situation. For instance, mass spectrometry—the more expensive, but also more sensitive testing method—may be appropriate in people who tend to have low estrogen levels, including postmenopausal women and children beginning puberty.

Additionally, the experts recommended that medical journals require authors to fully explain the estrogen measurement testing methods used in studies. Ensuring researchers explain the processes they used will help the field move toward standardized methods.

In addition to Vesper, other authors of the study include: L.M. Demers of Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine in Hershey, PA; S.E. Hankinson of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA; S. Haymond of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, IL; T. Key of the University of Oxford in Oxford, U.K.; W. Rosner of Columbia University in New York, NY; R.J. Santen  of the University of Virginia Health Sciences System in Charlottesville, VA; F.Z. Stanczyk of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, CA; and R.G. Ziegler of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD.

The manuscript, “Measuring Estrogen Exposure and Metabolism: Workshop Recommendations on Clinical Issues,” is published in the June print issue of JCEM.

Treatment of Symptoms of the Menopause: assessing individual Benefits, Risks of Menopausal Therapies

Experts Recommend Assessing Individual Benefits, Risks of Menopausal Therapies

Menopausal-Therapies
The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on identifying women who are candidates for treatment of menopausal symptoms and selecting the best treatment options for each individual.

Endocrine Society – Hormone Science to Health – press release Experts Recommend Assessing Individual Benefits, Risks of Menopausal Therapies

Washington, DC – The Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG), entitled “Treatment of Symptoms of the Menopause: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline” was published online and will appear in the November 2015 print issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of the Endocrine Society.

Menopause is the life stage that takes place when a woman’s ovaries dramatically decrease production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, and her menstrual periods stop. The average age of an American woman experiencing menopause is around 51 years old.

During menopause, many women experience symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood changes, joint pain, recurrent urinary tract infections, and difficult or painful sexual intercourse. These symptoms can start in the years before a woman’s final menstrual period and last for more than a decade.

Women now have a broader range of treatment options for menopausal symptoms than ever before, but many clinicians are reluctant to pursue them. A 2012 Endocrine Society survey found that 72 percent of women currently experiencing menopause symptoms had not received any treatment for them.

Hormone therapy—at one time the most popular treatment for menopausal symptoms— has been under intense scrutiny since 2002, when a large government study called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) reported that hormone therapy – specifically the combination of conjugated equine estrogens and medroxyprogesterone acetate (Prempro) – increased the risk for blood clots, stroke, breast cancer and heart attacks in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years at study onset. But additional research conducted in the ensuing years indicated the level of risk depends on the individual woman’s health history, age and other factors. Experts have formed a consensus that the benefits of menopausal hormone therapy exceed the risks for most healthy women seeking relief of menopausal symptoms.

“There is no need for a woman to suffer from years of debilitating menopausal symptoms, as a number of therapies, both hormonal and non-hormonal are now available,” said Cynthia A. Stuenkel, MD, the chair of the task force that authored the guideline and an endocrinologist specializing in menopause at the University of California, San Diego. “Every woman should be full partners with her health care providers in choosing whether treatment is right for her and what treatment option best suits her needs. The decision should be based on available evidence regarding the treatment’s safety and effectiveness, as well as her individual risk profile and personal preferences.”

In the CPG – see full PDF – the Endocrine Society recommends that women with a uterus who decide to undergo menopausal hormone therapy with estrogen and progestogen be informed about risks and benefits, including the possible increased risk of breast cancer during and after discontinuing treatment. Health care providers should advise all women, including those taking menopausal hormone therapy, to follow guidelines for breast cancer screening.

Other recommendations from the CPG include:

  • Transdermal estrogen therapy by patch, gel or spray is recommended for women who request menopausal hormone therapy and have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism – a disease that includes deep vein thrombosis.
  • Progestogen treatment prevents uterine cancer in women taking estrogen for hot flash relief. For women who have undergone a hysterectomy, it is not necessary.
  • If a woman on menopausal hormone therapy experiences persistent unscheduled vaginal bleeding, she should be evaluated to rule out endometrial cancer or hyperplasia.
  • Medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), gabapentin or pregabalin are recommended for women who want medication to manage moderate to severe hot flashes, but either prefer not to take hormone therapy or have significant risk factors that make hormone therapy inadvisable.
  • Low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy is recommended to treat women for genitourinary symptoms of menopause, such as burning and irritation of the genitalia, dryness, discomfort or pain with intercourse; and urinary urgency or recurrent infections. This treatment should only be used in women without a history of estrogen-dependent cancers.

The Hormone Health Network, the Endocrine Society’s public education arm, developed an interactive digital resource called the Menopause MapTM for women to explore the stages of menopause and learn about symptoms they may experience. The Menopause MapTM related resources are available. The Hormone Health Network also offers a digital toolkit for health care providers.

Other members of the Endocrine Society task force that developed this CPG include: Susan R. Davis of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia; Anne Gompel of the Université Paris Descartes in Paris, France; Mary Ann Lumsden of the University of Glasgow School of Medicine in Glasgow, Scotland; M. Hassan Murad of the Mayo Clinical in Rochester, MN; JoAnn V. Pinkerton of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA; and Richard J. Santen of the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, VA.This CPG was co-sponsored by the Australasian Menopause Society, British Menopause Society, European Society of Endocrinology and the International Menopause Society.

The Society established the CPG Program to provide endocrinologists and other clinicians with evidence-based recommendations in the diagnosis and treatment of endocrine-related conditions. Each CPG is created by a task force of topic-related experts in the field. Task forces rely on scientific reviews of the literature in the development of CPG recommendations as well as feedback from co-sponsoring societies, members of the Endocrine Society and expert reviewers. The Endocrine Society does not solicit or accept corporate support for its CPGs. All CPGs are supported entirely by Society funds. A list of CPGs can be found here.

Fracking Chemicals Tied to Reduced Sperm Count in Mice

Study examines endocrine-disrupting effects of known fracking chemicals

fracking
A new study on mice finds that the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing appear to disrupt the reproductive system. America at work via James Wengler.

Endocrine Society – Hormone Science to Health – press release Study examines endocrine-disrupting effects of known fracking chemicals

Washington, DC – Prenatal exposure to a mixture of chemicals used in the oil and natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, at levels found in the environment lowered sperm counts in male mice when they reached adulthood, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s journal Endocrinology.

The scientists tested 24 chemicals used in fracking and determined that 23 of them were endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs. EDCs mimic, block or otherwise interfere with hormones, the body’s chemical messengers that act through receptors to regulate the activity of cells and biological processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth, and digestion. Specifically, these 24 chemicals alone and in mixtures were tested for their ability to activate or inhibit action of the estrogen, androgen, progesterone, glucocorticoid and thyroid receptors using a human cell-based assay.

Among the 23 EDCs the scientists identified, more than 90 percent of the chemicals disrupted the functions of estrogens and androgens, male sex hormones such as testosterone. In addition, more than 40 percent could interfere with progestogens, another type of reproductive hormone, and glucocorticoids, which are involved in metabolism and stress. Thirty percent of the chemicals disrupted thyroid hormone signaling. In addition, some chemical combinations exhibited greater than anticipated disruption based on single chemical analysis.

EDC exposure has been linked to health problems including birth defects, reproductive disorders, cancer, diabetes, obesity and neurodevelopmental issues, according to the executive summary of the Endocrine Society’s second Scientific Statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. An economic analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in March estimated that EDC exposure likely costs the European Union €157 billion ($209 billion) a year in actual health care expenses and lost earning potential.

“This study is the first to demonstrate that EDCs commonly used in fracking, at levels realistic for human and animal exposure in these regions, can have an adverse effect on the reproductive health of mice,” said the study’s senior author, Susan C. Nagel, PhD, of the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. “In addition to reduced sperm counts, the male mice exposed to the mixture of chemicals had elevated levels of testosterone in their blood and larger testicles. These findings may have implications for the fertility of men living in regions with dense oil and/or natural gas production.”

Oil and gas companies are not required to disclose all of the chemicals in the mixtures they use for fracking. The scientists tested wastewater samples from drilling sites in Garfield County, Colorado and identified 16 of the fracking chemicals they had previously tested in these samples. The scientists used this information, along with existing literature on fracking chemical concentrations, to create a mixture of 23 chemicals that spanned the likely range of human exposure from levels found in wastewater to those likely to be found in drinking water contaminated with fracturing fluids.

Researchers added four different concentrations of the chemical mixture to the drinking water given to pregnant mice in the laboratory. The mice were exposed to the mixtures from day 11 of pregnancy until they gave birth. Their male offspring were assessed for effects of EDC exposure. The male offspring were compared to male mice born to mothers in the control group that was not exposed to the chemical mixture.

The scientists found mice that were exposed to the chemical mixtures prenatally had decreased sperm counts, increased testis weights and increased testosterone levels compared to the control group. In addition to exhibiting reproductive changes, the mice that were exposed to the highest concentration of the chemical mixture tended to weigh more and showed persistent effects on the structure of the heart compared to the mice in the control group.

“It is clear EDCs used in fracking can act alone or in combination with other chemicals to interfere with the body’s hormone function,” Nagel said. “These mixture interactions are complex and challenging to predict. More research is needed to assess the many other chemicals used for fracking and to determine how they may be contributing to health outcomes.”

Other authors of the study include: Christopher D. Kassotis of Duke University in Durham, NC; Kara C. Klemp, Danh C. Vu, Chung-Ho Lin, Chun-Xia Meng, Erma Z. Drobnis, Victoria D. Balise, Chiamaka J. Isiguzo and Michelle A. Williams of the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO; Cynthia L. Besch-Williford of IDEXX RADIL Pathology Services in Columbia, MO; Lisa Pinatti and R. Thomas Zoeller of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA; and Donald E. Tillitt of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, MO.

The Passport Foundation Science Innovation Fund, the University of Missouri Research Council, a crowdfunding campaign on Experiment.com, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s STAR Fellowship Assistance Agreement supported the research.

The study “Endocrine Disrupting Activity of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals and Adverse Health Outcomes Following Prenatal Exposure in Male Mice,” was published online, October 14, 2015. See full PDF.

EDCs chemical exposure linked to rising diabetes, obesity risk

Exec. summary for new Scientific Statement on EDCs is available!

cash-register-receipt image
Known EDCs include BPA and BPS found in food can linings and cash register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. The endocrine disruptor chemicals are so common that all of us have been exposed to many of them.

Endocrine Society – Hormone Science to Health – releases Scientific Statement on Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals

Washington, DC – Emerging evidence ties endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure to two of the biggest public health threats facing society – diabetes and obesity, according to the executive summary of an upcoming Scientific Statement issued today by the Endocrine Society.

The statement’s release comes as Society experts are addressing a global meeting, the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4), in Geneva, Switzerland, on the importance of using scientific approaches to limit health risks of EDC exposure.

The statement builds upon the Society’s groundbreaking 2009 report, which examined the state of scientific evidence on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and the risks posed to human health. In the ensuing years, additional research has found that exposure is associated with increased risk of developing diabetes and obesity. Mounting evidence also indicates EDC exposure is connected to infertility, hormone-related cancers, neurological issues and other disorders.

EDCs contribute to health problems by mimicking, blocking or otherwise interfering with the body’s natural hormones. By hijacking the body’s chemical messengers, EDCs can alter the way cells develop and grow.

Known EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA) found in food can linings and cash register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. The chemicals are so common that nearly every person on Earth has been exposed to one or more. An economic analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in March estimated that EDC exposure likely costs the European Union €157 billion ($209 billion) a year in actual health care expenses and lost earning potential.

“The evidence is more definitive than ever before – EDCs disrupt hormones in a manner that harms human health,”

said Andrea C. Gore, Professor and Vacek Chair of Pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the task force that developed the statement.

“Hundreds of studies are pointing to the same conclusion, whether they are long-term epidemiological studies in human, basic research in animals and cells, or research into groups of people with known occupational exposure to specific chemicals.”

The threat is particularly great when unborn children are exposed to EDCs. Animal studies found that exposure to even tiny amounts of EDCs during the prenatal period can trigger obesity later in life. Similarly, animal studies found that some EDCs directly target beta and alpha cells in the pancreas, fat cells, and liver cells. This can lead to insulin resistance and an overabundance of the hormone insulin in the body – risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.

Epidemiological studies of EDC exposure in humans also point to an association with obesity and diabetes, although the research design did not allow scientists to determine causality. The research offers insights into factors driving the rising rates of obesity and diabetes. About 35 percent of American adults are obese, and more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Society’s Endocrine Facts and Figures report.

The Scientific Statement also examines evidence linking EDCs to reproductive health problems, hormone-related cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer, prostate conditions, thyroid disorders and neurodevelopmental issues. Although many of these conditions were linked to EDCs by earlier research, the number of corroborating studies continues to mount.

“It is clear we need to take action to minimize further exposure,”

Gore said.

“With more chemicals being introduced into the marketplace all the time, better safety testing is needed to identify new EDCs and ensure they are kept out of household goods.”

In the statement, the Society calls for:

  • Additional research to more directly infer cause-and-effect relationships between EDC exposure and health conditions.
  • Regulation to ensure that chemicals are tested for endocrine activity, including at low doses, prior to being permitted for use.
  • Calling upon “green chemists” and other industrial partners to create products that test for and eliminate potential EDCs.
  • Education for the public and policymakers on ways to keep EDCs out of food, water and the air, as well as ways to protect unborn children from exposure.

The statement also addresses the need to recognize EDCs as an international problem. Society members are currently meeting in Geneva for the fourth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4). Attending members, including Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Liège in Belgium, emphasize key principles of endocrinology that are confirmed by recent research need to be taken into account when developing policies for identifying and regulating endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

“Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during early development can have long-lasting, even permanent consequences,”

said Bourguignon.

“The science is clear and it’s time for policymakers to take this wealth of evidence into account as they develop legislation.”

Other authors of the Scientific Statement include: Vesna Chappell and Suzanne E. Fenton of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC; Jodi A. Flaws of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, IL; Angel Nadal of the Institute of Bioengineering and CIBERDEM at Miguel Hernandez University of Elche in Elche, Alicante, Spain; Gail S. Prins of the University of Illinois at Chicago in Chicago, IL; Jorma Toppari of the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Turku, Finland; and R. Thomas Zoeller of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.

“Executive Summary to EDC-2: The Endocrine Society’s Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals,” was published online in Endocrine Reviews, a journal of the Endocrine Society, at DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/er.2015-1093, September 28, 2015. Full PDF.

The Society will hold a Twitter chat on EDC exposure and associated health effects on Thursday, October 1 at 1 p.m. Eastern. Gore will serve as the expert and share information on the Scientific Statement. To follow the discussion moderated by @TheEndoSociety, use the hashtag #EndoChat.

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: The Endocrine Society 2009 Scientific Statement

EDCs side effects reviewed by The Endocrine Society

chemicals image
In 2009, The Endocrine Society made a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness. Image by jill570641.

2009 Study Abstract

There is growing interest in the possible health threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are substances in our environment, food, and consumer products that interfere with hormone biosynthesis, metabolism, or action resulting in a deviation from normal homeostatic control or reproduction.

In this first Scientific Statement of The Endocrine Society, we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology.

Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health. The mechanisms of EDCs involve divergent pathways including (but not limited to) estrogenic, antiandrogenic, thyroid, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, retinoid, and actions through other nuclear receptors; steroidogenic enzymes; neurotransmitter receptors and systems; and many other pathways that are highly conserved in wildlife and humans, and which can be modeled in laboratory in vitro and in vivo models. Furthermore, EDCs represent a broad class of molecules such as organochlorinated pesticides and industrial chemicals, plastics and plasticizers, fuels, and many other chemicals that are present in the environment or are in widespread use.

We make a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness.

Overview
  1. General Introduction to Endocrine Disruption
    1. Important issues in endocrine disruption
    2. The role of endocrinologists in discerning effects of EDCs
  2. Overview of Endocrine Disruption and Reproductive Health from a Clinical Perspective
    1. Clinical aspects of endocrine disruption in humans
    2. Clinical dimorphism of EDCs on male and female reproduction
    3. Experimental and clinical evidence of EDCs and potential mechanisms
  3. Clinical and Translational Impacts of EDCs on Female Reproduction
    1. Introduction to female reproductive development and function
    2. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
    3. Premature ovarian failure, decreased ovarian reserve, aneuploidy, and granulosa steroidogenesis
    4. Reproductive tract anomalies
    5. Uterine leiomyomas
    6. Endometriosis
  4. Endocrine Disruptors, Mammary Gland Development, and Breast Cancer
    1. Windows of vulnerability to carcinogenic agents and “natural” risk factors
    2. Theories of carcinogenesis
    3. Susceptibility of the breast during puberty and adulthood
    4. Susceptibility of the mammary gland during the perinatal period
    5. Perinatal exposure to environmentally relevant levels of endocrine disruptors
  5. Male Reproductive and Developmental Health: The Human Evidence
    1. Introduction to male reproductive health
    2. Male reproductive function and development
    3. Semen quality: temporal trends and EDC exposure
    4. Male urogenital tract malformations
    5. Testicular germ cell cancer
    6. Conclusions
  6. Prostate Cancer
    1. Introduction to prostate cancer
    2. Evidence and mechanisms for EDC effects on the prostate
  7. Neuroendocrine Targets of EDCs
    1. Endocrine disruption of reproductive neuroendocrine systems
    2. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) effects of EDCs
    3. Thyroid, metabolism, and growth
    4. Hormonal targets of neuroendocrine disruption
  8. Thyroid Disruption
    1. Introduction to thyroid systems
    2. Environmental chemicals impacting thyroid function
    3. Environmental chemicals impacting thyroid hormone transport, metabolism, and clearance
    4. Environmental chemicals impacting the thyroid hormone receptor
  9. Environmental Chemicals, Obesity, and Metabolism
    1. Introduction to EDCs and the obesity epidemic
    2. Environmental estrogens and obesity
    3. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ and organotins
    4. Phytoestrogens
    5. Endocrine disruptors, diabetes, and glucose homeostasis
    6. Endocrine disruptors and cardiovascular systems
    7. Estrogenic EDCs and cardioprotection
    8. Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs)
    9. Conclusions
  10. Recommendations for the Future
    1. Linking basic research to clinical practice
    2. Endocrine disruption and the public
    3. Prevention and the “precautionary principle”
    4. Specific recommendations for future research

Read the full paper: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement, NCBI PMCID: PMC2726844, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, Linda C. Giudice, Russ Hauser, Gail S. Prins, Ana M. Soto, R. Thomas Zoeller, and Andrea C. Gore, doi: 10.1210/er.2009-0002, Endocr Rev. 2009 Jun; 30(4): 293–342.

Endocrine Disruptors

EDCs exposure: burden and disease costs estimate in the European Union

Chemical exposure linked to hundreds of billions of Euros per year in health care costs in the EU only

Exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals is likely leading to an increased risk of serious health problems costing hundreds of billions (U.S.) per year in Europe alone…

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Many crops are treated with pesticides linked to multiple side- effects. The chemical exposure results in hundreds of billions of Euros per year in health care costs in the EU only. Image via tpmartins.

2015 Study Abstract

Context:
Rapidly increasing evidence has documented that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) contribute substantially to disease and disability.

Objective:
The objective was to quantify a range of health and economic costs that can be reasonably attributed to EDC exposures in the European Union (EU).

Design:
A Steering Committee of scientists adapted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change weight-of-evidence characterization for probability of causation based upon levels of available epidemiological and toxicological evidence for one or more chemicals contributing to disease by an endocrine disruptor mechanism. To evaluate the epidemiological evidence, the Steering Committee adapted the World Health Organization Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group criteria, whereas the Steering Committee adapted definitions recently promulgated by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency for evaluating laboratory and animal evidence of endocrine disruption. Expert panels used the Delphi method to make decisions on the strength of the data.

Results:
Expert panels achieved consensus at least for probable (>20%) EDC causation for IQ loss and associated intellectual disability, autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, childhood obesity, adult obesity, adult diabetes, cryptorchidism, male infertility, and mortality associated with reduced testosterone. Accounting for probability of causation and using the midpoint of each range for probability of causation, Monte Carlo simulations produced a median cost of €157 billion (or $209 billion, corresponding to 1.23% of EU gross domestic product) annually across 1000 simulations. Notably, using the lowest end of the probability range for each relationship in the Monte Carlo simulations produced a median range of €109 billion that differed modestly from base case probability inputs.

Conclusions:
EDC exposures in the EU are likely to contribute substantially to disease and dysfunction across the life course with costs in the hundreds of billions of Euros per year. These estimates represent only those EDCs with the highest probability of causation; a broader analysis would have produced greater estimates of burden of disease and costs.

Sources and more information
  • Estimating Burden and Disease Costs of Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union, Endocrine Society, doi/pdf/10.1210/jc.2014-4324, March 05, 2015.
  • Male Reproductive Disorders, Diseases, and Costs of Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union, Endocrine Society, doi/pdf/10.1210/jc.2014-4325, March 05, 2015.
  • Obesity, Diabetes, and Associated Costs of Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union, Endocrine Society, doi/pdf/10.1210/jc.2014-4326, March 05, 2015.
  • Neurobehavioral Deficits, Diseases and Associated Costs of Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union, Endocrine Society, doi/pdf/10.1210/jc.2014-4323, March 05, 2015.
  • Chemical Exposure Linked to Billions in Health Care Costs, nationalgeographic, MARCH 5, 2015.

IPEN 2014 EDCs Resource Guide

Endocrine Society and IPEN new resource on health threats posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals released on eve of international chemical safety meeting

New Resource on Health Threats Posed by Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals Released on Eve of International Chemical Safety Meeting

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In the run-up to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management’s (SAICM’s) 2nd Open Ended Working Group (OEWG2) meeting that will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 14 – 17 December, Endocrine Society and IPEN have prepared a new resource on health threats posed by EDCs.

As governments, industry and public interest groups from across the globe prepare to meet next week to discuss endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)  and other international chemical safety issues, the Endocrine Society and IPEN have released a new EDC Guide documenting the threat endocrine disruptors pose to human health.

“There is good reason to suspect that increasing chemical production and use is related to the growing incidence of endocrine-associated disorders over the past 20 years, including male reproductive problems, early female puberty, cancers and neurobehavioral disorders,” said Endocrine Society member Andrea C. Gore, PhD, the guide’s lead author. “Importantly, there is growing evidence that fetuses and children have a particular vulnerability to these chemicals. Introduction to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals was written to help policymakers and others better understand how these chemicals work and to assist them in making informed policy decisions.”

Introduction-to-EDCs cover image
Endocrine Society and IPEN new resource on health threats posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals released on eve of international chemical safety meeting.

EDCs and other chemicals will be one topic of discussion when policymakers and other stakeholders meet in Geneva, Switzerland Dec. 15-17 to discuss next steps on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), a global chemical safety policy framework. More than 100 countries are participating in the process organized mainly by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with contributions from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“In Geneva next week, the international community will decide how to respond to regional recommendations and growing stakeholder concerns about EDCs. Some of our goals for the meeting include new initiatives to identify potential EDCs and safer alternatives including nonchemical alternatives, more awareness-raising about the hazards of EDCs, and steps toward translating research results into control actions,” said Olga Speranskaya, PhD and IPEN cochair.

In 2012, the international community adopted a consensus resolution that identified endocrine-disrupting chemicals as an emerging policy issue. Scientific studies have linked EDC exposure to rising rates of male birth defects, infertility, cancer, obesity and neurobehavioral disorders. Nearly every person has been exposed to EDCs, which are found in plastics, foods, pesticides, cosmetics, electronics and building materials.

Over the past year, more than 140 governments from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean recognized the special vulnerability of children during critical periods of development and declared the need for more awareness, information and monitoring of EDCs including in children’s products, pesticides, electronics, building materials and textiles. Governments also called for a list of potential EDCs and their associated health effects along with safer substitutes including non-chemical alternatives.

SAICM was adopted in 2006 by the international community to foster the sound management of chemicals with a goal of ensuring that, by the year 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on the environment and on human health.

Sources and more information