Introduction to endocrine disruptors and puberty

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that chemical pollutants in the environment can interfere with the endocrine system. Indeed, all hormone-sensitive physiological systems are vulnerable to endocrine disruptors. However, the potential impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on human health still remains a medical issue of major concern among the scientific and general public. Evidence for associations between environmental chemicals and adverse health effects is traditionally derived from experimental studies and wildlife observations in contaminated ecosystems. There is currently a wealth of information from studies conducted on laboratory animals, most frequently rodents although more recently on sheep, nonhuman primates, and nonmammalian species, demonstrating a clear cause-and-effect relationship between EDC exposure and endocrine disease.