Endocrine Disruptors
Besides endocrine disorders caused by the internal environment, the endocrine system has to deal with “endocrine disruptors” that come from the external environment in the form of chemicals, such as pesticides and dioxins, found in our foods, our water, and the air we breathe.
Globally, it has been estimated that 20,000 people are killed yearly from direct exposure to pesticides; over 500,000 illnesses yearly are due to pesticide use. Pesticide residues are found in air, soil, and water. They are found as well in most humans and animals. The majority of pesticides used are organophosphates and carbamate. They are used in schools, business offices, churches, apartment buildings, grocery stores, farms, and, homes on a regular basis.1
Pesticides in chronic low dose exposure adversely affect the nervous system and cause cell mediated immune deficiency, allergy, and autoimmunity. After symptoms occur in the immunological and neurological areas, problems in endocrine function may also occur. Chlorinated products, example, act as weak estrogens and affect reproduction. These compounds have been associated with female infertility, miscarriages, and possible male infertility. Organophosphate (OP) pesticides have also been associated with male infertility with increased LH production (possibly secondary to testicular damage) and reduced numbers of morphologically healthy spermatozoa.2 Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) alters melatonin synthesis from the pineal gland and thus affects sleep. DDE (the breakdown product of DDT) can accumulate in the adrenal gland and cause atrophy.3 According a study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 93% of autopsies conducted in 1982 indicated the presence of DDE. Organophosphates also seem to affect calcium metabolism. Agricultural workers exposed to OP pesticides have significantly decreased bone formation compared to healthy controls.4
North Americans accumulate harmful levels of dioxins in their bodies mostly through the ingestion of food. Some segments of the population, such as nursing babies and people who eat a diet high in animal fat or foods contaminated because of their proximity to dioxin release sites, are exposed to higher than average levels of dioxin. Dioxins accumulate in the fatty tissue in meat, fish, and dairy products. When people consume these foods, they also consume dioxins.. The ingestion of dioxin in common foods has resulted in widespread low-level exposure in the general population. Others members of the population, such as Vietnam War veterans and some chemical plant workers, have accumulated additional dioxins because of their exposure to Agent Orange or other dioxin-contaminated chemicals in the workplace.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has studied the effect of abnormal levels of dioxin on the endocrine system, noting several serious disorders in animal and human studies.
Dioxin is not the only chemical that disrupts endocrine function. When the EPA measured the volatile organic compounds in adipose tissue of autopsies in the United States, a wide array of endocrine disruptors was discovered.
Exposure to chemicals has an impact on virtually every aspect of clinical endocrinology.
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Frame and Screen
Effect of Dioxins on Endocrine System
- Endometriosis
- Genital malformations (females)
- Altered glucose tolerance
- Decrease in sperm count
- Decreased testes size
- Decreased testosterone levels
Prevalence of Foreign Chemicals in Human Fat Tissues 5
- Benzene 96%
- PCB 83%
- Toluene 91%
- Chlorobenzene 96%
- Styrene 100%
- Ethyl benzene 96%
- DDT 55%
- DDE (breakdown product of DDT) 93%
- 2,3,7,8 TD Dioxin (Agent Orange) 76%
- Dioxin 100%
Selected Clinical Studies and Literature Reviews
To read more about exogenous endocrine disruptors, refer to the Selected Clinical Studies and Literature Review:
Paul Goettlich, Environmental Chemicals and Endocrinology, pp. xxx-xxx.
Samuel S. Epstein, “Trade Secrets”: The Latest in a Long Line of Conspiracies Charges,
