Organochlorines and endometriosis: a mini-review.
Organochlorines (polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxin-like compounds) are suspected to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of endometriosis. This hypothesis, based on experimental data, has been circulating for years in the scientific community and several epidemiologic surveys have attempted to obtain confirmatory human data. The purpose of this mini-review is to provide an overview of the twelve epidemiological studies that have assessed the relationship between endometriosis and organochlorine exposure. Several studies did not observe a significant association between peritoneal endometriosis and organochlorines. The deep nodular form of endometriosis appears associated with a higher serum level of both dioxin-like compounds and polychlorobiphenyls. The type of control women, the nature of the chemicals measured, and the definition of the disease could modulate the ability to detect the possible relationship between endometriosis and organochlorine exposure.
Heilier
Jean-François
JF
Université catholique de Louvain, Faculty of Medicine, Industrial Toxicology and Occupational Medicine Unit, Brussels, Belgium. jean-francois.heilier@uclouvain.be <jean-francois.heilier@uclouvain.be>
Donnez
Jacques
J
Lison
Dominique
D
D004147:Dioxins / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D018570:Risk Assessment
D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls