Endocrine Disruptors and Obesity

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review was to summarise current evidence that some environmental chemicals may be able to interfere in the endocrine regulation of energy metabolism and adipose tissue structure.

Recent Findings

Recent findings demonstrate that such endocrine-disrupting chemicals, termed “obesogens”, can promote adipogenesis and cause weight gain. This includes compounds to which the human population is exposed in daily life through their use in pesticides/herbicides, industrial and household products, plastics, detergents, flame retardants and as ingredients in personal care products. Animal models and epidemiological studies have shown that an especially sensitive time for exposure is in utero or the neonatal period.

Summary

In summarising the actions of obesogens, it is noteworthy that as their structures are mainly lipophilic, their ability to increase fat deposition has the added consequence of increasing the capacity for their own retention. This has the potential for a vicious spiral not only of increasing obesity but also increasing the retention of other lipophilic pollutant chemicals with an even broader range of adverse actions. This might offer an explanation as to why obesity is an underlying risk factor for so many diseases including cancer.

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Most cited references 65

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Exposure of the U.S. Population to Bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-Octylphenol: 2003–2004

Antonia M Calafat, Xiaoyun Ye, Lee-Yang Wong … (2007)

Background Bisphenol A (BPA) and 4-tertiary-octylphenol (tOP) are industrial chemicals used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins (BPA) and nonionic surfactants (tOP). These products are in widespread use in the United States. Objectives We aimed to assess exposure to BPA and tOP in the U.S. general population. Methods We measured the total (free plus conjugated) urinary concentrations of BPA and tOP in 2,517 participants ≥ 6 years of age in the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey using automated solid-phase extraction coupled to isotope dilution–high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Results BPA and tOP were detected in 92.6% and 57.4% of the persons, respectively. Least square geometric mean (LSGM) concentrations of BPA were significantly lower in Mexican Americans than in non-Hispanic blacks (p = 0.006) and non-Hispanic whites (p = 0.007); LSGM concentrations for non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites were not statistically different (p = 0.21). Females had statistically higher BPA LSGM concentrations than males (p = 0.043). Children had higher concentrations than adolescents (p $45,000/year). Conclusions Urine concentrations of total BPA differed by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and household income. These first U.S. population representative concentration data for urinary BPA and tOP should help guide public health research priorities, including studies of exposure pathways, potential health effects, and risk assessment.

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Bisphenol A and human health: a review of the literature.

Johanna Rochester (2013)

There is growing evidence that bisphenol A (BPA) may adversely affect humans. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that has been shown to be harmful in laboratory animal studies. Until recently, there were relatively few epidemiological studies examining the relationship between BPA and health effects in humans. However, in the last year, the number of these studies has more than doubled. A comprehensive literature search found 91 studies linking BPA to human health; 53 published within the last year. This review outlines this body of literature, showing associations between BPA exposure and adverse perinatal, childhood, and adult health outcomes, including reproductive and developmental effects, metabolic disease, and other health effects. These studies encompass both prenatal and postnatal exposures, and include several study designs and population types. While it is difficult to make causal links with epidemiological studies, the growing human literature correlating environmental BPA exposure to adverse effects in humans, along with laboratory studies in many species including primates, provides increasing support that environmental BPA exposure can be harmful to humans, especially in regards to behavioral and other effects in children. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Overview of epidemiology and contribution of obesity to cardiovascular disease.

Marjorie Bastien, Paul Poirier, Isabelle Lemieux … (2014)

The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide and is a source of concern since the negative consequences of obesity start as early as in childhood. The most commonly used anthropometric tool to assess relative weight and classify obesity is the body mass index (BMI); BMI alone shows a U- or a J-shaped association with clinical outcomes and mortality. Such an inverse relationship fuels a controversy in the literature, named the 'obesity paradox', which associates better survival and fewer cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with elevated BMI afflicted with chronic diseases compared to non-obese patients. However, BMI cannot make the distinction between an elevated body weight due to high levels of lean vs. fat body mass. Generally, an excess of body fat (BF) is more frequently associated with metabolic abnormalities than a high level of lean body mass. Another explanation for the paradox is the absence of control for major individual differences in regional BF distribution. Adipose tissue is now considered as a key organ regarding the fate of excess dietary lipids, which may determine whether or not body homeostasis will be maintained (metabolically healthy obesity) or a state of inflammation/insulin resistance will be produced, with deleterious CV consequences. Obesity, particularly visceral obesity, also induces a variety of structural adaptations/alterations in CV structure/function. Adipose tissue can now be considered as an endocrine organ orchestrating crucial interactions with vital organs and tissues such as the brain, the liver, the skeletal muscle, the heart and blood vessels themselves. Thus, the evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that adipose tissue quality/function is as important, if not more so, than its amount in determining the overall health and CV risks of overweight/obesity. © 2013.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Philippa D. Darbre: +44 118 378 7035 , p.d.darbre@reading.ac.uk

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Curr Obes Rep

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Curr Obes Rep

Title: Current Obesity Reports

Publisher: Springer US (New York )

ISSN (Electronic): 2162-4968

Publication date (Electronic): 15 February 2017

Publication date PMC-release: 15 February 2017

Publication date (Print): 2017

Volume: 6

Issue: 1

Pages: 18-27

Affiliations

ISNI 0000 0004 0457 9566, GRID grid.9435.b, School of Biological Sciences, , University of Reading, ; Reading, RG6 6UB UK

Article

Publisher ID: 240

DOI: 10.1007/s13679-017-0240-4

PMC ID: 5359373

PubMed ID: 28205155

SO-VID: f8524d51-58b8-40b6-8081-5b99056c4d7f

License:

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Funding

Funded by: University of Reading

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Health & Social care

Keywords: adipogenesis,bisphenol a,diethylstilbestrol,endocrine disruptor,endocrine-disrupting chemicals,obesity,obesogen,paraben,peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor,persistent organic pollutants,tributyltin

Data availability:

ScienceOpen disciplines: Health & Social care

Keywords: adipogenesis, bisphenol a, diethylstilbestrol, endocrine disruptor, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, obesity, obesogen, paraben, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, persistent organic pollutants, tributyltin

Endocrine Disruptors and Obesity

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Recent Findings

Summary

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International Journal of Applied Technology in Medical Sciences

Most cited references 65

Exposure of the U.S. Population to Bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-Octylphenol: 2003–2004

Bisphenol A and human health: a review of the literature.

Overview of epidemiology and contribution of obesity to cardiovascular disease.

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