EDC Science Weekly, Apr. 17-23, 2026

Post author:HEEDS
Post published:April 23, 2026
Post category:EDC Science Weekly

A summary of articles on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) added to PubMed this week.

Contents: Events, Regulations/Policy, Methods/Tools/Screening, Commentaries, Reviews/Meta-Analyses, Human Health Studies, Laboratory Studies, Exposure/Environment Studies

Highlights:

Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols: the randomized controlled PERTH Trial.
Associations between pollutants, the regularity of daily sex hormone patterns, and hormone profiles over a complete menstrual cycle.
Intervention decreased exposure to harmful chemicals from personal care products and cosmetics.

Science summaries and highlights

Events

Apr. 23 webinar (today!): Assessing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals through ultra-processed foods [Philadelphia Regional Center for Children’s Environmental Health]

Apr. 27 webinar: Cleaning House: The fight to rid our homes of toxic chemicals [CHE]

Apr. 28 webinar: Meet the Scientists Behind the Science: The 2025 ICEDA‑Evertéa Awardees [Intersectoral Centre for Endocrine Disruptor Analysis (ICEDA)]

Apr. 28 webinar: The urgent need to regulate menstrual products [Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) and Women’s Environmental Network]

Apr. 29 webinar: Public Attitudes On Toxic Chemicals: Insights from a January 2026 National Survey [Take Down Toxics]

May 5 hybrid symposium: NAMs and TAMs (New and Traditional Approaches and Methodologies): The Future of Laboratory-Based Environmental Health and Toxicology Research for Harm Reduction [Duke Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program]

May 6: ECHO Symposium: Translating Science to Action (hybrid) [NIH]

May 7 webinar: New science on neonicotinoids: Reproductive and neurodevelopmental health effects [CHE]

May 7 webinar: The Plastic Detox: A Free Educational Webinar on the New Documentary Film [Beyond Plastics]

May 13 science café: The Secret Chemistry of Hair Extensions [Silent Spring Institute]

May 29 conference: HEEDS EDC-North Carolina Annual Scientific Meeting (in person in Raleigh NC) [HEEDS]

Summer 2026: Skills for Health and Research Professionals (SHARP) Training program [Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health]

June 10: TSCA Reform: 10 years later (hybrid) [Environmental Law Institute]

June 15 due date for RFI: Facilitating Evidence Synthesis to Improve Decision-Making on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals [Pew Charitable Trusts]

June 28 – July 3: New and emerging threats, approaches, and mitigation strategies for environmental endocrine disruptors [Gordon Research Conference] and accompanying Gordon Research Seminar June 27 – 28, Harnessing interdisciplinary evidence for endocrine disruption.

July 8-10: U.S. Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) annual meeting (Raleigh NC); Trainee day July 8.

July 15 due date: Call for papers: Bridging Human and Animal Studies to Better Understand How Environmental Factors Impact Human Reproductive and Developmental Health: Celebrating Professor Shanna H. Swan for Her Outstanding Achievements in the Field [Reproductive Toxicology]

Regulations/Policy

One Substance, Multiple Assessments: How the various European Environmental Risk Frameworks affect the outcome of Chemical Risk Assessments.

Using effect biomarker thresholds in regulatory risk assessment: an OECD-based framework for assessing cumulative exposures to chemical mixtures.

Revisit China’s food safety standards for pesticides and veterinary drugs in food: Bridging regulatory deficiency with consumer dietary reality.

New approach methodologies (NAMs) to support regulatory assessment of developmental immunotoxicity – a new PARC project

More EDC policy, FPF’s regulations open for comment, and Science’s Trump-Tracker.

Methods/Tools/Screening

Stakeholder input towards further refinement and consolidation of the alternative safety profiling algorithm (ASPA) for next generation risk assessment (NGRA).

Navigating through toxicological data: review of toxicological databases and sources in the interdisciplinary context including-chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and forensics.

Commentaries

Plastics, plastic chemicals, and microplastics: multiple harms to health.

New Approach Methods (NAMs) in Hazard and Risk Assessment of Food Chemicals – An Editorial.

Eliminating Unnecessary Animal Testing

Advancing Environmental Justice through Chemical Education: Perspective from New Orleans’ Water and Air Quality Challenges.

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

The impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on uterine diseases.

Global trends in research on environmental chemical exposure and childhood learning disabilities: insights from a two-decade bibliometric and Latent Dirichlet Allocation analysis.

Environmental exposures and multiple myeloma risk: A contemporary review of epidemiologic associations and mechanistic plausibility.

Immunological Explanations for Autism Initiation From Inflammation and Neurotoxins.

Environmental and occupational cancer: highlighting research contributions from the IARC on its 60th anniversary.

Progress in identifying the preventable causes of human cancer: the experience of the IARC Monographs program.

Bisphenols

Postnatal Bisphenol A exposure and risk of precocious puberty in children: updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Bisphenol A and breast cancer: Can mechanistic plausibility be reconciled with epidemiological inconsistency?

Phthalates

Phthalates Induced Neurotoxicity: A Mechanistic Approach.

PFAS

From Maternal Exposure to Fetal Risk: Unraveling the PFAS Exposure Pathway and Its Placental Toxicity Mechanism.

Pesticides

Epigenetic fingerprints link early-onset colon and rectal cancer to pesticide exposure.

Environmental Justice and Pesticides in the Global South-A Scoping Review.

Effects of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides on amphibian development from early cleavage to metamorphosis: a systematic review of laboratory evidence.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

The mechanistic nexus between microplastics and chronic liver disease: A review of current evidence.

The impact of micro- and nanoplastics on human pulmonary health; an umbrella review.

The impact of microplastics on the mice gut microbiome: a meta-analysis.

Beyond Concentration: Particle Traits Shape the Toxicity of Microplastics in Fish – A Global Meta-Analysis.

When “biodegradable” is not benign: Microplastic-driven disruption of soil processes and plant-microbe interactions.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Application of the click analytical chemistry index for the assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products.

Plastic in Dermatology: Impact on human health, skin disease and the contribution of personal care product use to environmental pollution.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols: the randomized controlled PERTH Trial.

Associations between pollutants, the regularity of daily sex hormone patterns, and hormone profiles over a complete menstrual cycle.

Prenatal exposure to 33 endocrine-disrupting chemicals and pubertal development at age 9 in Spain.

Correlation of Urinary Bisphenol A and Phthalates With Overweight and Obesity in Children.

Network toxicology & molecular docking: endocrine-disrupting chemicals induce prostate cancer – a system study.

Phthalates

Neonatal urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations are associated with the development of atopic dermatitis.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Paraben Mixture Exposure and Liver Function in Pregnant Women: Findings from the Korean CHildren’s ENvironmental health Study (Ko-CHENS).New Approach Methods (NAMs) in Hazard and Risk Assessment of Food Chemicals – An Editorial.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Persistent organic pollutant concentrations in human pancreas correlate with markers of beta cell dysfunction.

PFAS

Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl sulfonic and carboxylic acids and neurodevelopmental delay in children up to 5 years old: Effect modification by progesterone and estradiol.

Prenatal and childhood exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and fat distribution in 9-year-old children: A prospective cohort study in the Faroe Islands.

Relationship between perfluoroalkyl substance exposure and immunoglobulin E among Korean adults from Korean National Environmental Health Survey cycle 4 (2018-2020): a cross-sectional study.

Flame Retardants

Identifying Associations and Key Early Life Exposure Windows for Organophosphate Esters and Adolescent Brain Morphometry in the HOME Study.

Association between Gestational and Childhood Exposures to Organophosphate Esters with Social Skill, Problem Behavior among Adolescents.

Pesticides

Prenatal Neonicotinoid Insecticide Exposure, Maternal Steroid Hormone Levels, and Precocious Puberty in Girls: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Proximity to Golf Courses and Risk of Parkinson Disease

Joint Association of Household Pesticide Exposure With Depression in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2014.

Reduced Pseudocholinesterase Levels Are Associated With Alterations in Lipid Biomarkers and Liver Enzymes Among Ghanaian Male Cocoa Farmers Using Organophosphate Pesticides.

Metals/Metalloids

Serum free fatty acids mediate the association between metal elements and cardiometabolic diseases.

Association of Blood Arsenic Concentrations with Lipid Markers in Uruguayan Adolescents: Exploring Effect Modification by Body Mass Index and Sex.

Oxidative stress and cardiovascular risk related to urinary metal(loid) levels in a pediatric population.

Exposure to multiple metals, maternal glucose homeostasis and gestational diabetes mellitus: A prospective cohort study.

Glycemic Regulation and Renal Function by Heavy Metal Exposure: A Cross-Sectional Analysis on Cement Plant Workers.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Maternal Plastic Exposure, Placental Microplastics, and Neonatal Anthropometry Outcomes: Evidence from a Human Placenta Study.

Air Pollution

Long-term Air Pollution and Overall and Regional Body Composition in Older Adults With Overweight or Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Associations between self-reported personal care products use and menstrual cycle length and regularity in a US digital cohort.

Miscellaneous

Systemic Inflammation Moderate the Association Between Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites and Hypertensive Adults.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Preconception exposures of female mice to a panel of metabolic disruptors induce sexually dimorphic metabolic perturbations in their offspring. [arsenic, TBT, diet]

Chemicals in plastics differentially affect the transcriptome of MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Toxic Effects of Co-Exposure of Dibutyl Phthalate and Cadmium Chloride on the Ovary of Adult Zebrafish: Evaluation of Oxidative Stress Parameters and Histopathology.

Integrating multi-omics, EWAS, and reverse network toxicology to explore environmental pollutant risks in erectile dysfunction.

Neuroprotection Against a Panel of Toxicants via a Novel Analog of the Natural Product Fraxinellone.

Bisphenols

Prenatal bisphenol A exposure perturbs sex-dependent transcriptomic regionalization of autism-associated genes in the developing brain.

Perinatal bisphenols combined exposure caused working memory impairment by disturbing the ventral hippocampus-medial prefrontal cortex circuit.

Maternal Bisphenol S Exposure Impairs Testicular Development and Sperm Function in Male Offspring by Disrupting the Immune-Endocrine Network.

Bisphenol A Drives Thyroid Carcinogenesis Through Oxidative Stress-Lipid Metabolic Reprogramming via the PTEN/PI3K/AKT Axis: Therapeutic Reversal by a Curcumin-Modified Quercetin Nanomicelle System.

Bisphenol A exposure disrupts the circadian clock system and impairs glycolipid metabolic function in mice liver.

Comparative Dose-Dependent Effects of Bisphenol A, F, and S on Testicular Oxidative Stress, DNA Damage, and Reproductive Hormones in Rats.

Comparative effect assessment of bisphenol analogs by high content analysis in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.

Comparative genotoxic and developmental effects of bisphenol analogs on human lymphocytes and Lymnaea stagnalis.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) induces cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in gill cells of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

BPA impairs the intestinal health of Gobiocypris rarus by disrupting gut microbiota, altering fatty acid metabolism, and affecting mucus secretion.

Oral repeated dose toxicity study of bisphenol F in rats.

Network-based toxicological analysis of core targets and pathways of bisphenol A-driven hepatocellular carcinoma.

Network toxicology and molecular docking elucidation of oligoasthenospermia induced by bisphenol analogues: a comparative study of BPA, BPS, BPF, and BPAF.

Complex Reactivity of Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether (BADGE) with DNA.

Taurine mitigates bisphenol A-induced maternal-fetal oxidative stress and improves fetal weight by regulating Nrf2-Keap1 pathway, gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism.

Phthalates

Linking di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) exposure to osteoporosis through population analysis, network toxicology, and experimental evidence.

Computational identification of diagnostic biomarkers linking Dibutyl phthalate exposure to ovarian cancer through network toxicology and machine learning.

Gestational dibutyl phthalate exposure impairs the ovarian reserve in offspring mice through METTL14-m6A-mediated PI3K-AKT-FOXO3a activation.

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate induces spermatogenic dysfunction via p38/NCOA4-dependent ferritinophagy and ferroptosis in Sertoli cells.

RIPK1-driven calcium overload and lysosomal-mitochondrial dysfunction induce testicular necroptosis following DEHP exposure.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Loss of PPARα-UGT1 axis exacerbates triclosan-induced steatohepatitis in humanized UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1 mice.

PFAS

Proteome-wide reverse molecular docking reveals folate receptor as a mediator of PFAS-induced neurodevelopmental toxicity.

PFOA effects on osteoblast differentiation: Involvement of oxidative stress and endocannabinoid receptors.

Toxicometabolomic profiling of perfluorinated sulfonic acids and perfluorinated carboxylic acids reveals conserved effects on lipids and bile acids in Atlantic salmon hepatocytes.

Multigenerational exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) negatively impacts the reproductive health of male mice.

Sublethal concentrations of PFOS and PFDA differentially impact brood size and gene expression in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Simulating the interactions between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and kidney transporters for understanding their half-life and renal bioaccumulation.

Flame Retardants

An environmentally relevant mixture of organophosphate esters induces cholesterol biosynthesis in THP-1 macrophages.

TDCIPP induces placental dysfunction and fetal growth restriction via oxidative stress-mediated PINK1/Parkin mitophagy.

Subchronic exposure to decabromodiphenyl ethane impairs cognitive function and induces neuronal ferroptosis via disruption of mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membranes.

A stimulating effect induced by Bisphenol A bis (diphenylphosphate) in HepG2 cells via vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/VEGF receptor axis.

miR-184/hamp-Mediated Cardiotoxicity and Hepatotoxicity in Offspring Zebrafish Following Paternal Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) Phosphate.

Organotins

Mechanism of neuroinflammation and cardiovascular toxicity induced by tributyltin: Evidence from zebrafish (Danio rerio) models and network toxicology studies.

Pesticides

Impact of glyphosate and atrazine combined exposure on the physiological and molecular integrity of Mytilus galloprovincialis.

Toxic effect of organophosphate (chlorpyrifos) on hematological, biochemical, enzymatic and histological parameters in striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Sauvage, 1878).

Protective effect of green tea extract on chlorpyrifos induced toxicity in liver of male mice.

Metabolomic insights into the mitigating effect of 5-Aminolevulinic acid on fipronil-induced toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Molecular mechanisms of pyrethroid insecticide-induced acute kidney injury: a network toxicology and molecular docking analysis.

Toxic effects induced by individual and combined exposures of glyphosate and POEA in honey bees.

Metals/Metalloids

Arsenic Attenuates Responsiveness to Inflammatory Stimuli in the SIM-A9 Microglial Cell Line.

Environmentally Realistic Metal Mixture Concentration Impacts Early Development in Zebrafish Larvae.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Nanoplastics exposure accelerates the progression of osteoarthritis via lysosomal destabilization-mediated pyroptosis.

The mitochondrial fission-mitophagy axis drives neuronal S-phase arrest and hippocampal damage in co-exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics and lead.

Systems toxicology of naturally aged polypropylene microplastics in zebrafish.

Postnatal development outcomes in mice after gestational exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics.

Polystyrene microplastics disrupt the blood-testis barrier via CEBPB-driven lysosomal autophagy and induce ferroptosis-like injury in human sperm, compromising embryo development.

Photoaging accelerates volatile organic compound emissions from microplastics in air and water: Mechanism insights and environmental-health implication.

Protective effects of taurine against microplastic-induced nephrotoxicity through suppression of oxidative stress, NF-κB/Caspase-3 activation, and pro-fibrotic signaling.

Polylactic acid microplastics regulate organophosphorus pesticide impacts on phosphorus bioavailability in soil-plant systems.

Miscellaneous

Mechanistic study on nonylphenol-induced depressive-like behavior: PINK1/parkin-mediated mitophagy regulates synaptic remodeling in neurons.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Persistent, Mobile, Toxic: The Effects of Chemical Warning Labels on Public Risk Perception.

PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and fish consumption in the Great Lakes Fish Consumer Study (GLFCS).

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in rivers of southern India: Spatial distribution, sources, health and ecotoxicological risks.

A data mining-based screening and prioritization of PFAS in wastewater treatment plants across China.

Wastewater pre-treatment processes as a potential source of atmospheric per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and emerging organic contaminants.

Structure-driven bioaccumulation of legacy and emerging PFAS across freshwater biota and tissues: Implications for dietary exposure and age-specific risks.

Diet, lifestyle, and sociodemographic influences on serum concentration of PFASs: Insights from human biomonitoring in Switzerland.

Multi-media occurrence, bioaccumulation, and exposure assessment of PFAS across a Midwestern U.S. State.

Pesticides

Population-specific metabolic pathways shape neurotoxicity: Evidence from human biomonitoring of neonicotinoid insecticides and their metabolites in South China.

Metals/Metalloids

An information intervention in India reduces consumption of arsenic-contaminated drinking water and has small effects on health.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Quantitative modeling of nanoplastic accumulation from single-use water bottles: exposure scenarios and tissue concentration estimates.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Levers to decrease exposure to harmful chemicals: the case of Personal Care Products and cosmetics.

Analyzing the landscape of “clean” products for textured hair at a Los Angeles Target.

——-

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and generally does not include studies on detection, remediation, or treatment of EDCs. Industry-funded articles are included without notation. Note that journal publication dates may be different from dates added to PubMed. To see the searchable archives, please email me and ask to join the EDC Science Weekly group EDC_research@googlegroups.com. There are searchable archives. Compiled by Sarah Howard of Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS), a program of Environmental Health Sciences.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to donate here! Thank you!

EHN EHN

HEEDS EDC-North Carolina meeting
by Sarah Howard on March 24, 2026 at 12:51 pm
EDC-North Carolina's fifth annual meeting will be held on Friday, May 29, 2026. It will be held at NIEHS in the Rodbell Auditorium, and attendance is free and open to everyone. There will be awards for best posters; posters from other meetings are accepted. More information here. Sponsored by Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS).
Webinar: New science on neonicotinoids: reproductive & neurodevelopmental health effects
by Sarah Howard on March 15, 2026 at 6:47 pm
This May 7 webinar is sponsored by the Collaborative for Health and Environment, and features Dr. Jenn Sass of NRDC and Dr. Jodi Flaws of the University of Illinois.
Jerry's on TikTok
by Sarah Howard on January 17, 2026 at 3:41 pm
Dr. Jerry Heindel, HEEDS founder, is now on TikTok! The videos are also available as shorts on the HEEDS YouTube channel.

EHN EHN

Interview: Christopher Borgert on an infamous glyphosate paper
by EHN Curators on April 21, 2026 at 12:30 pm
This pharmacologist gathered more than 60 researchers to push back on the retraction of a Monsanto-linked research paper.
Declining PFAS levels in seabird eggs reflect impact of regulatory action
by Environmental Health Sciences Staff on April 16, 2026 at 8:20 pm
In a recent study published by the Journal of Applied Toxicology, researchers examined the levels of toxic PFAS chemicals in the eggs of northern gannets — a species of seabird — over a 55-year period in Canada.
RFK Jr. links fluoride to lower IQ. New data tells a different story
by EHN Curators on April 16, 2026 at 12:28 am
A new study found people who drink fluoridated water long-term are just as smart as those who don't, contrary to RFK Jr.'s comments.

EHN EHN

Use of toxic PFAS in consumer goods must be urgently restricted, MPs say
by EHN Curators on April 23, 2026 at 12:10 pm
Commons committee heard from residents of Yorkshire town with the highest levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in the UK.
EPA adds more pesticide industry reps to the Science Advisory Board
by EHN Curators on April 22, 2026 at 12:35 pm
While most appointees are academic scientists, U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin also named employees of a company that makes forever chemicals.
Advocates criticize proposed NC PFAS strategy for lack of enforcement power
by EHN Curators on April 22, 2026 at 10:48 am
Critics say North Carolina's PFAS plan lacks strict limits and polluter accountability, leaving communities with ongoing contamination risks.