The role of hormones in the body
Hormones play a crucial role in many of the body's functions. They help regulate and coordinate activities such as our sexual development, metabolism and overall body functions. Endocrine disruptors can mimic or disrupt the functions of natural hormones in the body. They can bind to hormone receptors, which can activate or block the effects of natural hormones. This can lead to a wide range of health problems, as the body's hormonal balance is essential for normal function and development.
Health risks
Endocrine disruptors can cause several serious health problems. They can interfere with the body's endocrine system, the body's regulation through hormones, which is crucial for maintaining physiological balance. Disruption of this system can lead to various diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and various cancers. Exposure to these substances often occurs over time and can have cumulative effects, i.e. several different effects interact with each other, making it difficult to directly link specific diseases to specific exposures. There is also a cocktail effect to consider, where the mixture of different chemicals may have stronger or different effects than the individual substances.
Some of the diseases and health problems that research suggests may be linked to endocrine disruptors are as follows:
Cancer: Bröstcancer, prostatacaner, testikelcancer och sköldkörtelcancer.
Fetma och diabetes: Typ 2-diabetes har mer än fördubblats sedan 1980.
Endometrios: d v s förekomst av livmoderslemhinna utanför livmodern.
Födsloeffekter: Låg födelsevikt, avbrutna graviditeter och missbildningar i könsorganen hos unga pojkar.
Bröstutveckling: Unga flickor kommer in i puberteten och utvecklar bröst tidigare.
Pregnancy, young children and endocrine disruptors
During pregnancy and early childhood, we are particularly sensitive to the effects of endocrine disruptors. Fetuses and young children do not yet have fully developed systems to deal with these substances, making them more vulnerable. It is therefore important that pregnant women and parents of young children pay special attention to the products they use and the environments they are in to minimize the risk of negative health effects. The most critical stage for endocrine disrupting effects is the fetal stage. Exposure of a foetus to an endocrine disruptor may result in effects on brain development or increased risk of disease in adulthood. In an adult, the body is better able to self-regulate the levels of hormones, but in fetuses and young children this mechanism is not as developed, which increases the risk that an endocrine disruptor may have long-term negative effects.