Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology V. Erspamer, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 May 6;21(9):3282. doi: 10.3390/ijms21093282.
Several pesticides are recognized as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) since they can interfere with the dysregulation of sexual, thyroid and neuro-endocrine hormones. Children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of EDCs due to their developmental stage, peculiar lifestyle and dietary habits. In this context, the exposure to pesticides represents an important risk factor associated with early development. This study deals with the possible association between exposure to pesticides and idiopathic premature thelarche in girls from areas of intensive agriculture practice in the Centre of Italy. An integrated approach was set up, including: (i) a case-control study on girls with idiopathic premature thelarche; (ii) the evaluation of multiple pesticides exposure in girls; (iii) the evaluation of multiple pesticides in food; (iv) the dietary intake of pesticide residues; (v) the assessment of toxicological effects of widely used pesticides by in vitro model. Data integration will provide an estimate of the predictive risk of potential effects on girls' health, linked to dietary intake.
几种农药已被确认为内分泌干扰化学物质（EDCs），因为它们会干扰性激素、甲状腺激素和神经内分泌激素的失调。由于儿童处于发育阶段、特殊的生活方式和饮食习惯，他们尤其容易受到 EDC 的不良影响。在这种情况下，接触农药是与早期发育相关的一个重要风险因素。本研究探讨了意大利中部农业密集区女童接触农药与特发性性早熟的关系。建立了一种综合方法，包括：（i）对特发性性早熟女童的病例对照研究；（ii）评估女童接触多种农药的情况；（iii）评估食物中的多种农药；（iv）摄入农药残留的饮食情况；（v）利用体外模型评估广泛使用的农药的毒理学效应。数据集成将提供对与饮食摄入相关的女童健康潜在影响的预测风险的估计。
