The risk of endometriosis after exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals: a meta-analysis of 30 epidemiology studies

review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 31 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-07-10

This meta-analysis of 30 studies found that exposure to PCBs, OCPs, and PAEs was associated with an increased risk of endometriosis, while BPA showed no significant association.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are suspected to be associated with endometriosis (EMs). This study aimed to synthesize published data and evaluate the relationship between four classic EDCs exposure and the risk of EMs. A systematic literature search for original peer reviewed papers was performed in the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science based on inclusion criteria up to January 2018. Subsequently, a total of 20 papers conducting 30 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in this meta-analysis (four studies for bisphenol A (BPA), 12 studies for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), eight studies for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and six studies for phthalate esters (PAEs)). The overall odds ratio (OR) across all exposures and EMs was 1.41 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23-1.60). When assessing four specific chemicals, respectively, consistent increases in the risk of EMs were found in PCBs group (OR = 1.58; 95% CI: 1.18-2.12), OCPs group (OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.02-1.92) and PAEs group (OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.00-1.60), while BPA showed no significant association with EMs. Besides, in the di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) group - the most commonly used PAEs, significant risk was also found (OR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.19-1.70). The current meta-analysis strengthens the evidence that specific EDCs or their metabolites may promote the occurrence of EMs.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endocrine Disruptors Endometriosis Endometriosis Environmental Exposure Endocrine Disruptors Endometriosis Environmental Exposure Environmental Exposure Female Humans Risk Factors

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (67)

Cited by (32)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-08-27T06:11:05.884134+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:22:54.901233+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-08-27T06:26:25.619941+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK