Endocrine disruptors and behavioral disorders?

Endocrine disruptors are present everywhere in our environment and pose a potential neurodevelopmental toxicity risk. A recent French study has indicated that exposure to two common endocrine disruptors during pregnancy could be associated with behavioral disorders in children.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐬 are commonly used as 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬, such as cosmetics, hygiene products, and pharmaceuticals. 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐥 𝐒, meanwhile, is found in receipts and sunglasses, and is a 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐥 𝐀. The latter has been banned in France since 2015 because of its 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞-𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬. French researchers have studied the effect of prenatal exposure to 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐥𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐥 𝐒 on behavioral disorders in children.

The study, published at the end of 2025 in the journal 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑡 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ, looked at 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬, one in Spain and one in France. Exposure to the molecules of interest was measured by 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝟐𝟒 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟒𝟐 𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬. The children's behavior was assessed using the 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 (𝐂𝐁𝐂𝐋). The results showed a positive correlation between the level of exposure to 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐥𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐁𝐂𝐋 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬. The same trend was observed for bisphenol S, but only in boys. Regarding the biochemical substrate of these effects, the main hypothesis is 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥, although a causal link has not been established.

There are numerous studies on the effects of endocrine disruptors, as these molecules pose a 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. These results also raise the question of the 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬. Bisphenol S has replaced bisphenol A, even though the molecules are similar.