2025/08/30 by Pauline Blanc‐Petitjean, Rita Rahban, Brigitte Dananché +6 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals #Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity #Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
paper · doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2025.105236
openalex publication_date 2025/08/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
RESEARCH QUESTION: Does maternal occupational exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) during pregnancy affect reproductive hormone concentrations in adult sons? DESIGN: Data from a cross-sectional study of 2326 Swiss conscripts collected between 2005 and 2017 were analysed. On inclusion, the conscripts' mothers completed a detailed questionnaire about their pregnancy. A job-exposure matrix was used to assess exposure to 10 categories of potential EDC. Reproductive hormones - FSH, LH, total and free testosterone, oestradiol and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) - were determined in serum samples from all conscripts whose mothers were exposed to EDC during pregnancy (n = 138) and a random sample of non-exposed conscripts (n = 276). Multiple linear regression analyses were adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Prenatal exposure to phthalates or alkyl phenolic compounds was significantly associated with higher FSH concentrations (aβ = 0.26, 95% CI 0.03-0.49, and aβ = 0.22, 95% CI 0.02-0.42, respectively) and prenatal exposure to pesticides was significantly associated with higher SHBG concentrations (aβ = 0.22, 95% CI 0.05-0.38). No statistically significant associations were found between other EDC categories and reproductive hormones. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal occupational exposure to certain types of EDC during pregnancy was associated with the concentrations of reproductive hormones in adult sons. These findings require replication in larger, prospective population studies.