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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a class of chemicals that mimic, block or interfere with the production, metabolism or action of hormones in the body. As EDCs are ubiquitous in our environment, food and consumer products, they pose a threat not just to public health but to global health. This Nature Reviews Endocrinologyweb collection on endocrine disruption contains Reviews and commentaries written by leading researchers in the field, as well as key advances in EDC research highlighted by journal editors. The collection covers the biological effects of EDCs and evidence linking EDC exposures to adverse health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, male and female reproductive disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, asthma and cancer, together with emerging technologies that have the potential to characterize current and past EDC exposures and predict risk of developing EDC-related diseases in the future.
The emerging field of omics has the potential to advance and strengthen research into endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In this Opinion article, Andrea Baccarelli and colleagues discuss the potential of using omics technologies — both established and developing — to characterize present and past EDC exposures and predict risk of developing EDC-related diseases.
Metabolism-disrupting chemicals (MDCs) are a subclass of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that affect energy homeostasis. Here, Angel Nadal and colleagues review the main mechanisms used by MDCs to alter energy balance, information that should help to identify new MDCs, as well as novel targets of their action.
In this Review, Foulds et al. posit that endocrine-disrupting chemicals are an unappreciated driver of the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Experimental animal studies supporting this association are discussed, together with the challenges of establishing a causal link in humans.
Evidence suggests that early-life exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals might contribute to the development of reproductive disorders. Here, Julie Boberg and colleagues summarize the current knowledge of how environmental chemicals and pharmaceuticals potentially contribute to the development of ovarian dysgenesis syndrome.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can increase the risk of childhood diseases by disrupting hormone-mediated processes critical for growth and development. Here, Joseph Braun discusses epidemiological evidence of associations between early-life exposure to EDCs and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders and obesity.
Concern exists about the possible link between intrauterine exposure to analgesics and congenital malformations. Here, Bernard Jégou and colleagues discuss the effects of mild analgesics (paracetamol and NSAIDs) on endocrine homeostasis and the reproductive system in animals and humans of both sexes, from fetal life to adulthood.
A subclass of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, so-called 'obesogens', have been proposed to predispose certain individuals to weight gain, despite their efforts to limit caloric intake and increase levels of physical activity. In this Review, Jerrold Heindel and colleagues discuss the experimental and epidemiological findings on obesogens, their modes of action, and their role in the obesity epidemic.