Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and male reproductive health

Modifiable factors, such as environmental exposures, can impact human fertility. The objective of this review is to summarize the potential effects of exposure to important endocrine disrupting chemicals on male reproductive health. The vast majority of experimental and animal data demonstrates strong evidence for negative effects of exposure to phenols, phthalates, pesticides and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on male reproductive health. While evidence of negative associations in humans was overall strong for phthalates and pesticides, limited and inconclusive relationships were found for the other examined chemical biomarkers. Reasons for the discrepancies in results include, but are not limited to, differences in study populations, exposure concentrations, number of sample collected, sample sizes, study design and residual confounding. Additional studies are needed, particularly for newer phenols and PFAS, given the scarce literature on the topic and increasing exposures over time.