Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and child health

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are chemicals which are introduced into the environment by human activities. In many cases it has been proven that EDCs can cause adverse health effects in the human. EDCs are classified by their chemical structure, putative direct or indirect effects on endocrine glands and systems, may accumulate and persist in organisms and in the environment, and/or they may exert clinically observable and measurable effects. Often, EDCs may act in concert and as mixtures. Legislation to ban EDCs and protect especially pregnant women and children at young age are needed and needs to be revised and adjusted to new developments on a regular basis. Putative associations, in spite of sometimes conflicting results, have to be analyzed in in vitro model systems be it in cell biology, in vitro settings or animal studies in more detail. This chapter depicts the mainly positive albeit detrimental epidemiological findings for EDC-caused effects in the fields of growth and metabolism, neurocognitive development and sexual development and reproduction.