Effetti degli interferenti endocrini su crescita e sviluppo puberale

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals present in many areas and materials of the common life, from plastics to detergents, from the air we breathe to the food we eat. Their effect on human health is now known and irrefutable. In fact, several epidemiological studies have identified how endocrine disruptors can act on pre- and postnatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism and obesity, puberty, fertility and carcinogenesis, mainly through epigenetic action mechanisms. The activity of endocrine disruptors occurs mainly during the so-called “window periods”:phases of the child’s life particularly susceptible to epigenetic changes, due to the speed of the accretive processes. Among these periods certainly pre- and postnatal life and the period of puberty stand out, strongly influenced from the point of view of DNA methylation processes.