Endocrine disruptors and human fertility

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Endocrine disruptors (EDs) or simply endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) refer to any substance which may mimic or interfere with the normal functions of the endocrine system. They are found in everyday products like plastic bottles and containers, liners of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, pesticides, and virtually every available human consumables. Due to the fact that most of them are slow in degradation or even completely non- biodegradable, they constitute great risk to the ecosystem. It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid exposure to man-made endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and environmental toxicants. This escalating yet constant exposure is postulated to partially explain the concurrent decline in human fertility that has occurred over the last 50 years. Controversy however remains as to whether associations exist, with conflicting findings commonly reported for all major EDC classes. The primary aim of this current review therefore is to identify and peer-reviewed evidence regarding the effects of environmentally-relevant EDCs on adult male and female fertility during the critical preconception period on reproductive hormone concentrations, gamete and embryo characteristics. Generally, sub-fertile individuals or couples exhibit higher EDC concentrations, endorsing a positive association between EDC exposure and sub-fertility. Finally, it will highlight future research focus as well as government, industry and social awareness strategies required to mitigate the negative effects of EDC and environmental toxicant exposure on human fertility and fecundity.