Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA.
Women's Reproductive Health Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 23;19(3):1257. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031257.
Over the years, industrial accidents and military actions have led to unintentional, large-scale, high-dose human exposure to environmental contaminants with endocrine-disrupting action. These historical events, in addition to laboratory studies, suggest that exposure to toxicants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls negatively impact the reproductive system and likely influence the development of gynecologic diseases. Although high-level exposure to a single toxicant is rare, humans living in industrialized countries are continuously exposed to a complex mixture of manmade and naturally produced endocrine disruptors, including persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. Since minorities are more likely to live in areas with known environmental contamination; herein, we conducted a literature review to identify potential associations between toxicant exposure and racial disparities in women's health. Evidence within the literature suggests that the body burden of environmental contaminants, especially in combination with inherent genetic variations, likely contributes to previously observed racial disparities in women's health conditions such as breast cancer, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, uterine fibroids, and premature birth.
多年来，工业事故和军事行动导致人类意外、大规模、高剂量地暴露于具有内分泌干扰作用的环境污染物中。这些历史事件，加上实验室研究，表明接触二恶英和多氯联苯等毒物会对生殖系统产生负面影响，并可能影响妇科疾病的发展。虽然人类很少会接触到单一高浓度的有毒物质，但生活在工业化国家的人类会持续接触到人为和天然产生的内分泌干扰物的复杂混合物，包括持久性有机污染物和重金属。由于少数族裔更有可能生活在已知存在环境污染的地区；因此，我们进行了文献综述，以确定有毒物质暴露与妇女健康方面的种族差异之间的潜在关联。文献中的证据表明，环境污染物的体内负荷，特别是与内在遗传变异相结合，可能导致先前观察到的妇女健康状况方面的种族差异，如乳腺癌、子宫内膜异位症、多囊卵巢综合征、子宫肌瘤和早产。
