Environmental Xenoestrogens, Antiandrogens and Disorders of Male Sexual Differentiation

Over the past 20 years, the documented increase in the disorders of male sexual differentiation, such as hypospadias, cryptorchidism, and micropenis, has led to the suspicion that environmental chemicals are detrimental to normal male genital development in utero. Environmental xenoestrogens (such as herbicides, pesticides, PCBs, plasticizers, and polystyrenes) that mimic estrogens or environmental antiandrogens (such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, linuron, vinclozolin, and pp′DDE) that disturb endocrine balance, cause demasculinizing effects in the male foetus. These environmental chemicals are often referred to as endocrine disruptors: