From Environmental to Possible Occupational Exposure to Risk Factors: What Role Do They Play in the Etiology of Endometriosis?

Lidia Caporossi, Silvia Capanna, Paola Viganò, Alessandra Alteri, Bruno Papaleo
International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021 · vol. 18(2) , pp. 532 · doi:10.3390/ijerph18020532 · PMID:33440623 · PMC7826798 · W3118509186
review OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 10 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This systematic review found conflicting data on environmental and occupational exposures, with organochlorine compounds and night work showing the strongest potential associations with endometriosis etiology.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a gynecological disorder characterized by the presence of endometrial stroma and glands outside the uterine cavity. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to clarify, starting from environmental exposure data, whether possible occupational risk factors may correlate with the onset of the disease. The guidelines for reporting systematic reviews of the "PRISMA" statement were followed and two databases, Scopus and PubMed, were used. Of the 422 studies selected with specific keywords, 32 publications were eligible, 28 of which referred to chemical agents and 4 related to night work. Conflicting data emerged among these studies. Although some compounds seemed to be more involved than others in the onset of endometriosis. Association with exposure to organochlorine compounds is the most supported by the epidemiological data, while other pesticide exposure did not show any clear correlation. Likewise, the hypothesis of a correlation with perfluoroalkyls exposure is not currently supported by data. The involvement of metals as risk factors has not been confirmed, while the role of night work, in the case of long service, seems to play an etiological role. In order to clarify the potential occupational risk of endometriosis development, well-designed studies are needed to evaluate the potential association between chemical compounds and disease etiology.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated Occupational Exposure Occupational Exposure Pesticides Pesticides Environmental Exposure Female Humans Risk Factors

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Cited by (10)

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