Book contents
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Environmental contaminants and exposure
- 3. Development and maturation of the normal female reproductive system
- 4 Development and maturation of the normal male reproductive system
- 5 Modern genetics of reproductive biology
- 6. Mechanisms of endocrine disruption
- 7. Developmental exposures and implications for early and latent disease
- 8 Wildlife as sentinels of environmental impacts on reproductive health and fertility
- 9 Environmental contaminants and effects on timing and progression of human pubertal development
- 10 Environmental contaminants and impacts on healthy and successful pregnancies
- 11 Environmental contaminants and reproductive and fertility effects in the male
- 12. Environmental contaminants, female reproductive health and fertility
- 13 Environmental contaminants and related systems that have implications for reproduction
- 14 Environmental contaminants and cancers of the reproductive tract
- 15 Communicating with patients and the public about environmental exposures and reproductive risk
- 16 Interpreting science in the policy context
- 17 Conclusions – what does all this mean, and where are we going?
- Index
9 - Environmental contaminants and effects on timing and progression of human pubertal development
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 February 2010
Book contents
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Environmental contaminants and exposure
- 3. Development and maturation of the normal female reproductive system
- 4 Development and maturation of the normal male reproductive system
- 5 Modern genetics of reproductive biology
- 6. Mechanisms of endocrine disruption
- 7. Developmental exposures and implications for early and latent disease
- 8 Wildlife as sentinels of environmental impacts on reproductive health and fertility
- 9 Environmental contaminants and effects on timing and progression of human pubertal development
- 10 Environmental contaminants and impacts on healthy and successful pregnancies
- 11 Environmental contaminants and reproductive and fertility effects in the male
- 12. Environmental contaminants, female reproductive health and fertility
- 13 Environmental contaminants and related systems that have implications for reproduction
- 14 Environmental contaminants and cancers of the reproductive tract
- 15 Communicating with patients and the public about environmental exposures and reproductive risk
- 16 Interpreting science in the policy context
- 17 Conclusions – what does all this mean, and where are we going?
- Index
Summary
Pubertal development is initiated by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Activation of the HPG axis is caused by changes in levels of neurotransmitters such as an increase in glutamate stimulation and a decrease in GABA inhibition of these groups of neurons. Late pubertal phenomena in boys include the pubertal growth spurt and age at voice break. In humans, a striking variability in the timing of puberty is observed among children despite relatively similar life conditions. This variability is dependent on environmental as well as genetic factors. Certainly fat mass plays an important role for timing of puberty. Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from the environment could be a candidate factor. Exposure to lead has been associated with delayed puberty in girls. Despite numerous experimental studies showing the influence of endocrine disrupters on pubertal maturation, limited data exist in humans.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010