Featured Questions, Comments and Responses

Subject: EMCOM Queries
Question: I am a medical student in Greece (6th year of studies) and I am writing a report on EDC'S. I would like to ask if there is any specific group that is mostly exposed in EDC'S so as to make a screening test. Thank you at advance for your help.
Elina, Greece

Answer: Thank you for your question. The term 'endocrine disrupter' is used to describe a wide range of agents that mimic or disrupt the endocrine system. Due to the broad nature of this field, it may be difficult to define one particular population that is at greatest risk. Many studies have focused on specific occupations, such as pesticide applicators, farmers, greenhouse workers etc... as pesticides (DDT especially) have been linked to endocrine disruption. Other key populations that have significant organochlorine accumulation (high body burdens of PCBs) include arctic populations and people who consume large quantities of fish from the Great Lakes. Due to the vast array of potential health outcomes resulting from exposure to endocrine disrupters you may also wish to limit your study to a particular health outcome that is of particular concern to your region.