Background: Bisphenol A (BPA; or 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol) is an endocrine disrupting chemical. It was widely used in a variety of plastic-based manufactured products for several years. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently reduced the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for BPA by 20,000 times due to concerns about immune-toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Chim Acta
August 2024
Background: Reference intervals covering the whole life span for all the metabolites in the steroid hormone biosynthesis quantified by sensitive and robust analytical methods are sparse or not existing.
Objective: To develop a state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of multiple steroid metabolites and to establish detailed sex- and age-specific reference intervals for 16 steroid metabolites.
Materials And Method: An isotope diluted LC-MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous quantitation of 16 steroid hormones.
Objective: To describe the natural history of inhibin B throughout life according to sex, age, and pubertal development.
Methods: Based on serum samples from 2707 healthy controls aged 0 to 80 years, sex- and age-specific reference ranges of inhibin B concentrations were constructed. Concentrations were evaluated according to pubertal development and use of oral contraceptives (OCs).
The prevalence of hormone-related health issues caused by exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a significant, and increasing, societal challenge. Declining fertility rates together with rising incidence rates of reproductive disorders and other endocrine-related diseases underscores the urgency in taking more action. Addressing the growing threat of EDCs in our environment demands robust and reliable test methods to assess a broad variety of endpoints relevant for endocrine disruption.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal and human studies have suggested that sex steroids have calciotropic actions, and it has been proposed that follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) may exert direct effects on bone. Here, we demonstrate the expression of the receptor for Luteinizing hormone (LH) and human choriogonadotropin (hCG), LHCGR, in human kidney tissue, suggesting a potential influence on calcium homeostasis. To investigate the role of LHCGR agonist on calcium homeostasis in vivo, we conducted studies in male mice and human subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: The anogenital distance (AGD) is considered a postnatal readout of early fetal androgen action. Little is known of prenatal AGD and how it correlates with AGD postnatally.
Objective: We present longitudinal measurements of fetal and infant AGD.
Congenital cryptorchidism, also known as undescended testis, is the condition where one or both testes are not in place in the scrotum at birth and is one of the most common birth defects in boys. Temporal trends and geographic variation in the prevalence of cryptorchidism from 1% to 9% have been reported in prospective cohort studies. The testes develop in the abdominal cavity and descend to the scrotum in two phases, which should be completed by gestational week 35.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), for instance phthalates and benzophenones, are associated with adverse fertility outcomes and semen quality parameters.
Objective: To evaluate if concentrations of selected phthalate metabolites and benzophenones measured in follicular fluid are associated with fertility outcomes (i.e.
Background: Relying on freezer stored biospecimens is preferred in epidemiolocal studies exploring environmental pregnancy exposures and later offspring health. Storage duration may increase the pre-analytical variability, potentially adding measurement uncertainty. We investigated evaporation of maternal serum after long-term biobank storage using ions (sodium, Na+; chloride, Cl-) recognized for stability and relatively narrow normal biological reference ranges in human serum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Hyg Environ Health
May 2023
Background: The transient postnatal activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal hormone axis is termed minipuberty and considered an important developmental period, which is highly sensitive to endocrine disruption. Here, we explore exposure-outcome associations during minipuberty between concentrations of potentially endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in urine of infant boys and their serum reproductive hormone concentrations.
Methods: In total, 36 boys participating in the COPENHAGEN Minipuberty Study had data available for both urine biomarkers of target endocrine disrupting chemicals and reproductive hormones in serum from samples collected on the same day.
Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is released by testicular Sertoli cells and of great importance during fetal male sexual development, but less is known about the role of circulating AMH during adulthood. In vitro studies have shown that vitamin D may induce AMH transcription, but a controlled trial investigating the possible effect of vitamin D on serum AMH has not been conducted in men.
Methods: A single-center, double-blinded, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT01304927) conducted in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Background: Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) and its major metabolite benzophenone-1 (BP-1) are widely used as UV filters in sunscreens and cosmetics to prevent sunburn and skin damage, or as stabilizers to prevent photodegradation in many commercial products. As a result, their presence is ubiquitous in the environment, wildlife and humans. Based on endocrine disruption concerns, international regulatory agencies are performing a closer evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies included a total of 10,795 participants of three age groups: (i) 3,576 children aged 6-12 years, (ii) 3,117 teenagers aged 12-18 years and (iii) 4,102 young adults aged 20-39 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ratio between luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) has previously been described as an excellent marker of sex in healthy infants. However, LH/FSH remains not fully described in patients with differences of sex development (DSD). The aim was therefore to describe LH/FSH in infants with DSD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver the last twenty-five years it has become evident that exposure to several phthalates can have adverse effects on human health, such as endocrine disruption. This led to a series of EU regulations that resulted in a decrease in the production volumes of the restricted phthalates and an increased production of substitutes. The current study describes the impact of regulations and changes in production and use of phthalates and their substitutes on internal exposure patterns in two European populations since the beginning of the 2000'ies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Environmental exposure during fetal life may disrupt testicular development. In humans, a limited number of studies have investigated whether these adverse effects persist into adulthood. Using data from a prospective, population-based birth cohort study, The Copenhagen Mother-Child cohort, the objective was to assess if there is an association between fetal exposure to selected phenols and benzophenones and markers of testicular function in adult men.
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