title: Occupational exposures to chemicals as a possible etiology in premature ovarian failure: a critical analysis of the literature.
abstract: Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a cause of infertility that affects about 1% of women under 40, and is considered as idiopathic in 75% of cases. An occupational chemical origin has been identified at least once with 2-bromopropane, but human studies are rare and experimental data are sparse. This review aims to carry out a critical synthesis of knowledge of the chemical agents likely to affect follicular stock in humans and/or animals, by direct toxicity to follicles, or by increasing their recruitments. Of 140 chemical agents (or groups) studied, 20 have been identified as potentially damaging to the ovarian reserve. For the majority of toxic agents, only experimental data are currently available. At least four of these agents are likely to lead to POF in descendents (ethylene glycol methyl ether; 2,2-bis(bromomethyl)-1,3-propanediol; benzo[a]pyrene; dimethylbenzantracene). We propose a strategy aiming to encourage progress in identifying occupational factors responsible for POF.
authors.affiliation: UJF-Grenoble 1/CNRS/TIMC-IMAG UMR 5525 (EPSP Team: Environnement et Prédiction de la Santé des Populations), Grenoble F-38041, France. r.beranger26@gmail.com
authors.forename: Rémi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Béranger
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Christin-Maitre
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bonneterre
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016649:Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*