Just in the last twenty years or so, a new field has emerged for researching how environmental toxins cause endocrine or hormonal disruption. Rather than being directly linked to the onset of specific cancers like the known fifty-four carcinogens identified by the EPA such as asbestos , endocrine disrupters influence our health in different ways by mimicking or enhancing or changing metabolic regulation [ 11 ].
A class of these toxins known as Endocrine-disrupting chemicals EDCs can be found in our food, our environment, and in the products we put on our bodies. These compounds interfere with hormone production and metabolism in ways that may—especially over the long term—create biological conditions that make us more susceptible to cancer and other diseases [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Instead, they work like our natural hormone system, our endocrine system, at exquisitely low levels and affect the physiology of the body at different times of life—especially at times of development, which interferes with normal development.
Carcinogens cause cellular damage and mutation, whereas endocrine disrupters cause ripples in overall development. We see, for instance, early-onset puberty in both boys and girls when exposed to certain though often different or uniquely combined endocrine disrupters in the environment, in food, or in the consumer products these children use. A study by the U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that girls exposed to high levels of a solvent used in toilet bowl deodorizers and air fresheners had their first menstrual period seven months earlier than those with lower exposure levels [ 14 , 15 ].
That research is the culmination of a series of studies that suggest environmental toxins, especially those that mimic hormones, could be responsible for causing changes in humans. The chemical in this particular study, dichlorobenzene, is present in the body of nearly every person tested in the United States [ 16 ]. Meanwhile, research by Kushi et al. After following the girls for a dozen years, Kushi and his team connected early breast development with two chemicals—triclosan, which is present in toothpaste and also in many other products, and 2,5-dichorophenol, a chemical used in pesticides and to chlorinate water [ 17 , 18 ].
Those two chemicals were related to girls developing four to nine months sooner. A report in and found that boys in the United States were maturing between six months and two years sooner than they were in the s [ 19 , 20 ]. With girls, they blame estrogen-like chemicals in the environment, such as dichlorobenzene or BPA.
But boys exposed to the same chemicals should have an opposite effect—delaying sexual maturation. Unfortunately, the risk of both breast and prostate cancer increases with early onset puberty as higher lifetime estrogen and testosterone exposure is a risk factor for breast and prostate cancer, respectively [ 21 — 23 ]. There is also research suggesting a link between EDC and obesity and other metabolic conditions.
A study in found that children exposed to chemicals used to soften plastic were more likely to be obese and at increased risk of diabetes [ 24 ].
Researchers at New York University examined the urine and blood of more than adolescents and found increased insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, in teenagers with higher levels of diethylhexyl phthalate or DEHP [ 25 ]. Meanwhile, high levels of BPA were connected with being overweight or obese. The rates of obesity were twice as high in teens with the highest BPA levels compared to those with the lowest levels [ 26 ].
Researchers speculate that excess BPA could throw off hormonal balance and disrupt metabolism, but note that more studies are needed to show a direct link [ 27 , 28 ]. Janet Gray, PhD, a professor of neuroscience at Vassar College, has been studying endocrine disruptors for the past fifteen years.
But, over time, endocrine disruptors and chemicals that mimic hormones can cause an imbalance in this delicate system [ 13 ]. Additionally, we pass along this kind of endocrine disruption to future generations, which add a whole new element to the new field of epigenetics.
Research on endocrine-disrupting compounds reveals the long-lasting effects of exposure to low levels of endocrine disrupters whereas when carcinogens are removed, the damage is relatively contained [ 29 ]. EDC exposure appears to actually imprint changes on future gene expression as opposed to gene mutation, which is the effect attributed to classic carcinogens. For example, in researchers in Chicago found that when male fetuses were exposed to BPA, the chemical reprogrammed their developing prostate and made them more susceptible to prostate diseases later in life [ 30 ].
A survey by the Environmental Working Group EWG in found that the average adult uses nine personal care products a day, with unique chemical ingredients [ 31 ]. The study, which surveyed more than twenty-three hundred people, found that one in five adults are exposed every day to all of the top seven carcinogenic impurities commonly found in personal care products, including formaldehyde, which is listed as a known carcinogen by both the IARC and the National Toxicology Program [ 2 ].
The study found that women expose themselves to chemicals every day, about twice as many as men. The average man surveyed said he used five to seven personal care products a day [ 31 ].
This can include things like deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, hair gel, shaving cream, aftershave, and lotion. The average woman uses nine to twelve products. The average teenage girl uses seventeen [ 32 ]. Cosmetics such as makeup, moisturizers and hair care products often contain parabens or phthalates, which as we mentioned are endocrine disruptors.
Phthalates have been linked to breast cancer, obesity, infertility, and asthma [ 13 , 33 ]. In the U. Meanwhile, products that promise to protect us from microbes might be doing more harm than good. Many antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers, and cleaning products contain triclosan.
The groundwater became saturated with chromium 6, a chemical used to inhibit rust. For the next twenty years, the limited scientific data around this type of water contamination was used as a legal football, even as more cases of cancer and other diseases related to the chromium dump were recorded. Finally, in , after the chromium 6 plume had spread hundreds of miles into other water supplies, this chemical was formally recognized as a known carcinogen [ 39 ].
Today, Hinkley, California, is a virtual ghost town. A more recent high-profile cancer cluster is the one that continues to grow in the aftermath of the September, 11, , attacks on the United States.
And as time has passed, the rate of reporting has skyrocketed: the latest enrollment triples the number of people who had enrolled in , when the registry counted only 1, related cancers. Over the last three years, more than fifteen hundred people have been added to this list annually and this number only counts those who have stepped forward to enroll in this federal health program [ 41 ].
The hardest hit group is first responders, with 4, now receiving health care and medical monitoring through the program. The others are people who lived, worked, or went to school near the World Trade Center. Almost half of the 5, enrolled are between the ages of fifty-five and sixty-four. More troubling are the low-level exposures to carcinogens that affect the whole planet in the air we breathe.
For instance:. Florida—which is home to seventy-seven Superfund sites environmental hazardous waste sites , thus ranking it sixth in this category in the country—was projected, in , to rank second in the number of new cancer cases [ 46 ].
A recent study published in Statistics and Public Policy examined cancer onset rates in Florida from to and found a strong association between the presence of these toxic sites and the rising rates of cancer [ 46 ]. These poisons are identified as follows:.
This leads to cancer and other disorders and the mutations can be passed down to future generations. Teratogens are agents which cause birth defects when the mother is exposed while pregnant. Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs are organic compounds that change to a gas state at room temperature. This allows them to permeate the air, which you then breathe. Most people have a large number of VOCs in their homes, as they are found in many things, including air freshener, craft supplies, paints, cleaning agents, cigarettes, and even nail polish remover containing acetone.
VOCs build up in your body when you breathe or touch them, eventually causing allergic and immune reactions, and damaging your nervous system, liver, and kidneys. Some other health problems they cause are headaches, dizziness, fatigue, memory problems, and cancer.
Allergens are a common problem. They work a bit differently from your average environmental toxin. Rather than your body being harmed directly by the substance, your body recognizes the allergen as an intruder then your immune system overreacts to get rid of the allergen. According to the CDC more than 50 million American suffer from allergies each year. Allergic reactions present in a variety of ways. Hay fever, asthma, conjunctivitis, hives, eczema, dermatitis, and sinusitis are all common reactions.
Food allergies can cause any of these problems, in addition to stomach pain and upset, dizziness and fainting, tingling or itching of the mouth, and swelling of the mouth, throat or face. A severe allergy can cause anaphylaxis, possibly resulting in death. One of the difficulties in diagnosing health problems as being caused by environmental toxins lies in the fact that there is a wide array of symptoms, and each person will have a different reaction. Every person has a different mix of toxins built up in their bodies, which also impacts what symptoms are present.
Additionally, once you become ill from exposure to one set of toxins, you are more likely to become reactive to additional toxins. These chemicals are both quite common. Parabens are often used as preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons are found in exhaust, asphalt, coal tar, smoke, soil and charbroiled foods.
These chemicals may trigger a physical reaction that ultimately leads to the disruption of emotions. Daily exposure to these chemicals could lead to a person developing a dependency on them.
This can induce inflammation or immune function to alert cell injury or damage. And that could, in turn, chronically disturb neuron functioning, leading to the disruption of emotions , and hence a need for more emotional support. Once we know the relationships of harmful chemicals and health, we can start to figure out how to lessen or prevent exposure to these chemicals. This could mean reducing our use of the consumer products that contain these substances. Buildings built more than 30 years ago could be another source of exposure and therefore need our attention to renovate.
They could emit chemicals that harm our health because they have building materials that may contain these harmful chemicals or have other pollutants like mold.
A screening program is one of the ways to identify housing and chemical issues at an early stage. Another way is through an unpleasant smell which is exactly what it sounds like.
Environmental Toxins. There are two different concepts about compounds that produce adverse health effects: Toxicants and Toxins. Both can cause biochemical harm differently. Toxicants toxic chemicals are man-made products, artificial products introduced into the environment due to human activity. Examples are industrial waste products and pesticides, carcinogens like asbestos, VOCs like benzene, etc. At PCS, we deal mainly with toxicants that are environmental pollutants. Are children more susceptible to t oxicants than adults?
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