The Epidemiologic Evidence Linking Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals with Male Reproductive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by:
JP Bonde, EM Flachs, S Rimborg, CH Glazer
Summary:
The aim of this study was to systematically synthesize published data on the risk of cryptorchidism, hypospadias, low sperm counts and testicular cancer following in utero or infant exposure to chemicals that have been included on the European Commission's list of Category 1 endocrine disrupting chemicals defined as having documented adverse effects due to endocrine disruption in at least one intact organism.

The literature search resulted in 1314 references among which we identified 33 papers(28 study populations) fulfilling the eligibility criteria. These provided 85 risk estimates of links between persistent organic pollutants and rapidly metabolized compounds (phthalates and Bisphenol A) and male reproductive disorders. The overall odds ratio (OR) across all exposures and outcomes was 1.11 (95% CI 0.91ā€“1.35). When assessing four specific chemical subgroups with sufficient data for meta-analysis for all outcomes, we found that exposure to one of the four compounds, p,pā€²-DDE, was related to an elevated risk: OR 1.35 (95% CI 1.04ā€“1.74). The data did not indicate that this increased risk was driven by any specific disorder.