2024-03-07 07:00:48
The prematurity day held last November was an opportunity for the Senate to organize a conference on the theme of the risk of prematurity induced by exposure to endocrine disruptors. It must be said that numerous studies have pointed to these substances as risk factors for prematurity and childhood diseases. We take stock.
Endocrine disruptors: widespread exposure
THE endocrine disruptors refer to chemical substances that disrupt the body’s hormonal functions such as growth, reproductive functions or thyroid functions. These dangerous substances can be present in the environment or enter into the composition of various everyday objects.
To know ! Endocrine disruptors can act at different levels by preventing a hormone from attaching to its target organ or by disrupting its production or regulation. They thus participate in the development or progression of numerous diseases.
Bisphenol-A, glyphosate and parabens are among the best-known endocrine disruptors. But there are many others and more and more scientific studies are studying their impact on health, in particular on child health. According to the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) and the High Council for Children, Family and Age (HCEFA), the effects of endocrine disruptors represent a true “silent epidemic” on the body and the brain. children.
Between 2014 and 2016, a national French survey entitled Esteban monitored exposure to six families of pollutants in everyday objects of 1,104 children aged 6 to 18 and 2,500 adults. It appears that exposure to endocrine disruptors is widespread in France with a increased level of impregnation in children aged 6 to 17.
Read also – Endocrine disruptors, a long list of harmful effects on health
Exposure to phthalates and risks of prematurity
Recently, several studies have focused on the effects of phthalates, a family of endocrine disruptors frequently found in cosmetic products, plastics or ultra-processed foods. A a link has been demonstrated between phthalates and an increased rate of preterm births. In 2022, a synthesis of 16 American studies carried out between 1983 and 2018 was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. She established a link between prematurity and 11 urinary phthalate metabolites during pregnancy. According to the authors of this synthesis, reducing exposure to phthalates would therefore reduce the number of premature births:
By 6% for a 30% reduction in exposure to phthalates. By 12% for a 50% reduction in exposure to phthalates. And 32% for a 90% reduction in exposure to phthalates.
To know ! There are nearly 55,000 cases of premature babies each year in France.
Another study, European this time and entitled “Generation R”, demonstrated that the level of phthalates during pregnancy was linked to risks of in utero growth retardation and prematurity.
Furthermore, the analysis of amniotic fluid revealed in a 2011 study the presence of phthalates, pesticides and other dangerous substances. And it is a review of several articles which made it possible in 2022 to summarize the effects of the transplacental passage of endocrine disruptors. With, for phthalates, placental alterations at the level of morphology, hormonal production or gene expression. However, you should know that before the 20th week of pregnancy, the early neurodevelopment of the embryo is mainly due to the mother’s iodine and thyroid hormone levels.
Impregnation of the fetus with endocrine disruptors during pregnancy thus creates an environment favorable to further development of pathologies such as hormone-dependent breast cancer, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, endometriosis, diabetes, obesity, etc.
Read also – Endocrine disruptors: What risks for the thyroid function of pregnant women?
Towards a reassessment of endocrine disruptors?
In this context, the French Society of Endocrinology urges re-evaluation of substances recognized as endocrine disruptors. Protecting the period of conception is also the spearhead of the third National Strategy on Endocrine Disruptors which campaigns for a national policy. For its part, the High Council of Public Health has chosen to include an “environment” chapter in the current health record. As for the National Health Strategy (2023-2033), it will include a “child health” component to protect the conception period.
On a European scale, 28 countries have already joined the PARC (Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals) biomonitoring partnership until 2027. We can bet that these initiatives will make it possible to better document the risks linked to exposure to endocrine disruptors and to further protect the health of populations.
Read also – Endocrine disruptors, towards reinforced monitoring!
Déborah L., Doctor in Pharmacy
Sources
– Fewer endocrine disruptors: an effective way to reduce prematurity and childhood illnesses. www.lequotidiendumedecin.fr. Accessed February 29, 2024.
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