Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 8;12(12):890.
doi: 10.3390/toxics12120890.

Awareness and Knowledge of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Among Pregnant Women and New Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Esin Okman  1   2 , Sıddika Songül Yalçın  2   3
Affiliations

Awareness and Knowledge of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Among Pregnant Women and New Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Esin Okman et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous substances that interfere with hormone regulation, leading to adverse health outcomes. Despite the wide use of EDCs in daily products like plastics, personal care items, and food packaging, public awareness remains low. Pregnant women and new mothers are particularly vulnerable, as exposure to EDCs during early life stages can have long-term health impacts. This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study aimed to assess the awareness of EDCs among pregnant women and new mothers at a maternity hospital.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital between January and August 2022. A questionnaire based on the Mutualités Libres/AIM 2020 survey was used to assess awareness of EDCs among pregnant and postpartum women. The original survey was adapted culturally and linguistically for the Turkish population through translation and expert review. The questionnaire included sections on sociodemographics, habits, knowledge, information sources, healthcare, readiness for change, expectations, and attitudes.

Results: The results showed that 59.2% of participants were unfamiliar with EDCs, and many lacked awareness of the associated health risks, including cancers, infertility, and developmental disorders in children. A significant portion of respondents had never heard of bisphenol A (BPA) or phthalates, while awareness of parabens was relatively higher.

Conclusions: The study concluded that increasing awareness of EDCs is essential for fostering informed avoidance behaviors, especially in vulnerable populations like pregnant women and new mothers. Public health campaigns and healthcare provider involvement are crucial for enhancing awareness and reducing the health risks associated with EDCs.

Keywords: bisphenol A (BPA); cross-sectional survey; early-life exposure; endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs); environmental pollutants; parabens; phthalates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The willingness of participants with risky behaviors to change their habits; the numbers displayed in the bars represent the n (count) values for each category.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Reincke M., Arlt W., Damdimopoulou P., Köhrle J., Bertherat J. Endocrine disrupting chemicals are a threat to hormone health: A commentary on behalf of the ESE. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 2024;20:187–188. doi: 10.1038/s41574-024-00958-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Predieri B., Iughetti L., Bernasconi S., Street M.E. Endocrine Disrupting chemicals’ effects in children: What we know and what we need to learn? Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022;23:11899. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911899. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yilmaz B., Terekeci H., Sandal S., Kelestimur F. Endocrine disrupting chemicals: Exposure, effects on human health, mechanism of action, models for testing and strategies for prevention. Rev. Endocr. Metab. Disord. 2020;21:127–147. doi: 10.1007/s11154-019-09521-z. - DOI - PubMed
    1. La Merrill M.A., Vandenberg L.N., Smith M.T., Goodson W., Browne P., Patisaul H.B., Guyton K.Z., Kortenkamp A., Cogliano V.J., Woodruff T.J., et al. Consensus on the key characteristics of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as a basis for hazard identification. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 2019;16:45–57. doi: 10.1038/s41574-019-0273-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Di Pietro G., Forcucci F., Chiarelli F. Endocrine disruptor chemicals and children’s health. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023;24:2671. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032671. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources