Open research questions in Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals

What the literature leaves open

• The sampling period was limited to two seasons, which may fail to capture short-term fluctuations in BPA concentrations. Geographical and logistical constraints could lead to the exclusion of potentially important sampling sites. The sensitivity of the analytical methods may be a limitation.

  Health risk assessment of bisphenol A exposure in water resources of Khuzestan province · 2026 · DOI

• Further studies are needed to assess the potential health risks associated with BPA in the water resources of Khuzestan province. Research on the effects of BPA exposure on children and adults is necessary. Studies on the transport of BPA in different environmental media are required.

  Health risk assessment of bisphenol A exposure in water resources of Khuzestan province · 2026 · DOI

• The study excluded individuals with invalid or missing values in questions related to PCP use, household income, education, working status, or incomplete laboratory data. The analysis was limited to pregnant women from the Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study. The study did not account for other potential sources of EDC exposure.

  Socioeconomic status in the association between use of personal care products and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in pregnant Taiwanese women · 2025 · DOI

• Few studies explicitly examined socioeconomic status and EDC levels, with inconsistent support for the environmental justice hypothesis. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the role of income and education in the association between PCP use and EDC exposure.

  Socioeconomic status in the association between use of personal care products and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in pregnant Taiwanese women · 2025 · DOI

• The exact causes of the decline in sperm quality remain unclear. There is a need for further research on the potential mechanisms between environmental chemicals and testicular function and spermatogenesis. The paper identifies a gap in understanding the broader evidence on the decline in sperm quality and its potential implications for overall fertility outcomes in humans.

  Potential effects of environmental toxicants on sperm quality and potential risk for fertility in humans · 2025 · DOI

• The paper identifies methodological limitations, including insufficient sample size, reliance on self-reported exposure data, and inadequate control for confounding factors. It highlights the importance of incorporating objective biomonitoring data and performing comprehensive multivariate regression analyses. The study notes the complexity of dose-response relationships and the need for careful consideration of methodological challenges.

  The impact, mechanisms and prevention strategies of environmental endocrine disruptors on male reproductive health · 2025 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying EED-induced reproductive toxicity. There is a need for further research on the transgenerational effects of EEDs and the development of effective intervention strategies. The study highlights the importance of considering the complex, interconnected mechanisms by which EEDs affect male reproductive health.

  The impact, mechanisms and prevention strategies of environmental endocrine disruptors on male reproductive health · 2025 · DOI

• The toxicological profile of BPAF is incompletely understood. The effects of BPAF exposure on obesity and lipid metabolism are not well studied. The underlying mechanisms of BPAF-induced obesity are not fully elucidated.

  Chronic BPAF exposure differentially enhances fat deposition in mice fed normal or high-fat diets via lipid metabolism dysregulation · 2025 · DOI

• Further studies are needed to investigate the health effects of BPA exposure in the Chinese population. More research is needed to understand the relationship between BPA exposure and environmental factors. Large-scale population studies with BPA exposure levels are needed in China.

  Distribution and potential risk factors of bisphenol a in serum and urine among Chinese from 2004 to 2019 · 2024 · DOI

• There is a lack of studies based on nationally representative populations examining the relationship between phthalates exposure and NAFLD. Existing studies have reached conflicting conclusions, and the impact of different diagnostic criteria on observed correlations is not well understood.

  Association between phthalates exposure and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease under different diagnostic criteria: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2017 to 2018 · 2024 · DOI

• Further human studies are needed to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies against EDC exposure

  Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Hypothalamic Inflammation and Reproductive Outcomes: A Review of the Literature · 2024 · DOI

• The mechanisms by which EDCs affect reproductive outcomes remain unclear. The full extent of the impact and mechanisms of action of EDCs remains not well understood due to practical obstacles.

  Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Hypothalamic Inflammation and Reproductive Outcomes: A Review of the Literature · 2024 · DOI

• However, the dynamic process of this accumulation and the interactions with dust organic constituents remain poorly characterized, leading to uncertainties in their homology analysis and exposure assessment.

  Dynamic accumulation and co-occurrence of phthalates and squalene in settled dust: implications for assessing indoor phthalate homology and exposures · 2026 · DOI

• The effects of phthalates and substitutes on adrenal steroidogenesis are poorly understood. There is a need to investigate the potential toxicological effects of phthalates and substitutes.

  Disruptive effects of phthalates and their substitutes on adrenal steroidogenesis · 2026 · DOI

• , renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, hypothalamic-pituitary axis) remain poorly understood.

  Disruptive effects of phthalates and their substitutes on adrenal steroidogenesis · 2026 · DOI

• Given that current Korean regulations cover a limited subset of phthalates at levels less stringent than international standards, expanding regulatory frameworks for drinking water and food-contact materials and adopting precautionary lifestyle measures are warranted, along with prospective studies to clarify source-specific causal pathways.

  Identifying dietary and daily product-use patterns explaining joint variation in multiple urinary phthalate metabolites via sparse reduced-rank regression · 2026 · DOI

• However, the relative contributions of diverse lifestyle-related sources to the overall phthalate burden remain unclear.

  Identifying dietary and daily product-use patterns explaining joint variation in multiple urinary phthalate metabolites via sparse reduced-rank regression · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should focus on core scientific questions, such as identifying key PAE subtypes that may be carcinogenic to the prostate, elucidating transgenerational epigenetic mechanisms underlying PAE-induced PCa susceptibility, and verifying the reversibility of PAE-obesity interactions in PCa development, to provide more substantial evidence for mitigating PAE-associated PCa risk.

  Research advances on the risk of prostate cancer from phthalates exposure: from epidemiological evidence to multidimensional prevention and control · 2026 · DOI

• While the exact causes remain unclear, potential contributors include environmental pollution, endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) and oxidative stress, with the latter becoming a growing concern.

  Potential effects of environmental toxicants on sperm quality and potential risk for fertility in humans · 2025 · DOI

• Background: Bisphenol AF (BPAF), an alternative to Bisphenol A (BPA), is increasingly utilized in various industrial applications, yet its toxicological profile remains incompletely understood.

  Chronic BPAF exposure differentially enhances fat deposition in mice fed normal or high-fat diets via lipid metabolism dysregulation · 2025 · DOI

• However, many studies focus on immediate effects, leaving the long-term impact poorly understood.

  Loss of adult visual responses by developmental BPA exposure is correlated with altered estrogenic signaling · 2025 · DOI

• In many Asian countries, however, the extent of plasticizer exposure among children is poorly understood despite the increasing use of plasticizers.

  Phthalate and Nonphthalate Plasticizer Exposure among Children of Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh: Occurrences and Risk Comparison · 2025 · DOI

• Phthalate exposure during pregnancy may result in neurotoxicity to offspring, but no studies have investigated the effects of longitudinal phthalate trajectories during pregnancy on children.

  Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Preschool Children Associated with the Longitudinal Trajectory of Phthalates during Pregnancy: Potential Mechanisms Based on Metabonomics of Cord Blood · 2025 · DOI

• Despite widespread exposure and potential adverse health outcomes, they are poorly understood in terms of toxicokinetics, i.

  Human Internal Exposures of Bisphenol A and Six Data-Poor Analogs Predicted by Physiologically Based Kinetic Models with Multimodal Parametrization · 2025 · DOI

• Meanwhile, few studies have explored the relationship between spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) and genetic polymorphisms of metabolic enzyme genes or gene-phthalate interactions.

  Association of maternal prenatal phthalate exposure and genetic polymorphisms of metabolic enzyme genes with spontaneous preterm birth: a nested case–control study in China · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals

• Exposure of the U.S. Population to Bisphenol A and 4- tertiary -Octylphenol: 2003–2004 · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2007 · 1,563 citations
• Bisphenol S and F: A Systematic Review and Comparison of the Hormonal Activity of Bisphenol A Substitutes · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2015 · 1,415 citations
• Decrease in Anogenital Distance among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2005 · 1,339 citations
• Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration With Medical Disorders and Laboratory Abnormalities in Adults · JAMA · 2008 · 1,166 citations
• Urinary, Circulating, and Tissue Biomonitoring Studies Indicate Widespread Exposure to Bisphenol A · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2010 · 1,119 citations
• An Extensive New Literature Concerning Low-Dose Effects of Bisphenol A Shows the Need for a New Risk Assessment · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2005 · 1,000 citations
• A variety of environmentally persistent chemicals, including some phthalate plasticizers, are weakly estrogenic. · Environmental Health Perspectives · 1995 · 966 citations
• What Are the Sources of Exposure to Eight Frequently Used Phthalic Acid Esters in Europeans? · Risk Analysis · 2006 · 916 citations
• Urinary Concentrations of Bisphenol A and 4-Nonylphenol in a Human Reference Population · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2004 · 884 citations
• Urinary levels of seven phthalate metabolites in the U.S. population from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000. · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2003 · 877 citations

Most recent work

• Dynamic accumulation and co-occurrence of phthalates and squalene in settled dust: implications for assessing indoor phthalate homology and exposures · Environmental Science Processes & Impacts · 2026
• Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols: the randomized controlled PERTH Trial · Nature Medicine · 2026
• Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures in Foods: A Comprehensive Methodological and Regulatory Review · Foods · 2026
• Environmentally Relevant Doses of Bisphenol A and S Exposure In Utero Disrupt Germ Cell Programming across Generations Resolved by Single Nucleus Multiomics · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2026
• Disruptive effects of phthalates and their substitutes on adrenal steroidogenesis · Frontiers in Endocrinology · 2026
• Protective Effects of Myrtus communis Essential Oil Against Bisphenol A‐Induced Metabolic Dysfunction‐Associated Fatty Liver Disease in Wistar Rats · Food Science & Nutrition · 2026
• Introducing BPA-equivalents: assessing mixture toxicity and substitution of BPA in environmental exposure scenarios · Environmental Science Processes & Impacts · 2026
• Bisphenol A Promotes Ovarian Cancer Proliferation and Migration through the HK2/H3K18la/IGF2BP3 Sequential Regulatory Axis · Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · 2026
• Prenatal bisphenol A exposure perturbs sex-dependent transcriptomic regionalization of autism-associated genes in the developing brain · Biology Direct · 2026
• Hidden Hazards: Nontargeted Chemical Analysis Reveals Widespread Contaminants and Mislabeling in Personal Care and Cleaning Products · Environment & Health · 2026

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