Right now is Worldwide Girls’s Day, so we took the chance to speak with a scientist within the area of chemical substances and ladies’s reproductive well being, Dr. Pauliina Damdimopoulou. She is Affiliate Professor in perinatal and reproductive toxicology and leads a research group on chemical substances and feminine fertility on the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
I give attention to environmental exposures, like industrial chemical residues and air air pollution, and their hyperlinks to diminished fertility in ladies. I’m particularly within the ovaries as a result of they maintain the valuable, finite inventory of oocytes – egg cells. All oocytes a lady will ever have kind earlier than she is born. Which means that oocytes are among the many longest residing cells within the human physique, and so they doubtlessly face many years of publicity to environmental air pollution. My goal is to determine how this publicity impacts ovaries and oocytes and, thereby, the general fertility in ladies.
Fertility was not a direct selection for me. My background is in biochemistry and meals chemistry, pushed by a curiosity about how food plan and its molecular parts influence human well being.
Nevertheless, throughout my postdoctoral research in France, issues started to align. I labored with frog and fish eggs and noticed how some females constantly produced higher eggs than others. This was intriguing to me. Given the significance of copy to the species’ survival, why didn’t it work each time?
I questioned concerning the many chemical substances within the surroundings. How may the trendy environments, saturated with artificial chemical substances that didn’t exist a century in the past, have an effect on human oocytes and fertility? These questions catalysed my determination to pursue a second postdoctoral examine targeted on the biology of human eggs and embryos.
As soon as the prospect to provoke my unbiased analysis emerged, I used to be able to put all my pursuits collectively and set up a laboratory exploring the hyperlinks between chemical substances and feminine fertility in people.
My analysis has proven that ladies are uncovered to complicated mixtures of environmental chemical substances and air air pollution particles, which we discovered each within the bloodstream and contained in the ovaries, the place the valuable oocytes reside.
We have now discovered vital associations between greater chemical publicity and a smaller reserve of oocytes. This reserve is crucial for the reproductive lifespan. When the reserve of oocytes is gone, fertility is misplaced, and menopause begins.
We additionally discovered vital associations between greater chemical publicity and altered development of the oocytes in the direction of maturity, greater odds of infertility, and decrease probabilities of success in infertility remedies.
These observations stem from cohorts of girls residing in Sweden and, like all epidemiological research, solely signify associations. To show causation, my laboratory is now conducting managed publicity research in vitro to unravel the mechanisms and results of chemical substances in ovarian tissue publicity in a petri dish.
The overall tendencies are constant worldwide: whole fertility charges are declining, and the common age of pregnant ladies is rising.
On common, European ladies have their first baby round 30 years previous. People are one of many only a few species the place fertility ends in sterility midlife, marked as menopause round 45-55 years previous, however fertility declines earlier than this attributable to declining high quality and amount of the oocytes. In follow, because of this the “fertile window” is narrowing, resulting in conditions the place some ladies could discover it difficult to conceive once they start making an attempt at 30. Demand for infertility remedies is on the rise in Europe and elsewhere.
Whereas the explanations behind these tendencies are undoubtedly multifaceted, my analysis signifies that environmental exposures might also be contributing elements.
Loads of analysis is being performed on endocrine-disrupting chemical substances. These chemical substances intrude with the physique’s hormones, affecting hormone-sensitive processes reminiscent of copy. The consequences could also be extra extreme throughout delicate home windows of growth, reminiscent of foetal life, when reproductive organs are forming.
Nevertheless, developmental processes happen in reproductive organs in adults as effectively. For instance, the uterine lining renews as soon as a month – in the mean time of menstruation, and immature oocytes constantly develop in the direction of maturity inside the ovaries. Thus, adults are additionally delicate to these chemical substances.
And endocrine disruption is more likely to be simply one of many some ways by which chemical substances can have an effect on our our bodies. My present analysis focuses on mapping the molecular mechanisms by which chemical substances have an effect on ovaries.
My primary recommendation is to vote for politicians who’re prepared to vary the chemical rules in Europe. Giving ladies lengthy lists of dos and don’ts just isn’t a sustainable technique for managing chemical well being dangers and defending public well being. There are a lot of good initiatives geared toward strengthening the testing and regulation of chemical substances in Europe, and I wholeheartedly assist their speedy implementation with none additional delay!
Having mentioned that, since this is likely one of the commonest questions I obtain, we carried out a small examine on the connections between life-style and the concentrations of some chemical substances in ladies’s ovaries. We discovered that ladies who reported utilizing fragrance every day had extra phthalates of their ovaries in comparison with those that didn’t. We additionally discovered that ladies who consumed extra fish and eggs had greater ranges of PFAS of their ovaries.
This brings me again to the significance of political motion. We are able to advise ladies to keep away from fragrance, however we can not advise them to cease consuming fish and eggs.
I might ask them to instantly implement the chemical laws updates from the Chemical substances Technique for Sustainability. For instance, the anticipated updates to REACH would convey enhanced safety in opposition to endocrine-disrupting chemical substances and chemical mixtures.
Round 70% of chemical substances available on the market haven’t been examined for toxicity in the direction of human well being, and it’s not possible for customers to know the place they’re. The merchandise we purchase in shops don’t have detailed ingredient lists (aside from sure classes like cosmetics and medicines). So after we discover chemical substances within the blood of girls, it’s not possible to inform how they ended up there.
Moreover, reproductive toxicity testing is obligatory just for high-production quantity chemical substances, and people assessments are based mostly on rats, that are very fertile and, for instance, by no means undergo menopause.
Consequently, our understanding of how chemical substances have an effect on fertility in ladies, notably these trying to conceive their first baby at round 30 years of age when fertility in people naturally begins declining, is at finest restricted. It’s essential to reassess how we examine reprotoxicity in contexts extra related to people.
Are you able to inform us a bit extra about your work?
I give attention to environmental exposures, like industrial chemical residues and air air pollution, and their hyperlinks to diminished fertility in ladies. I’m particularly within the ovaries as a result of they maintain the valuable, finite inventory of oocytes – egg cells. All oocytes a lady will ever have kind earlier than she is born. Which means that oocytes are among the many longest residing cells within the human physique, and so they doubtlessly face many years of publicity to environmental air pollution. My goal is to determine how this publicity impacts ovaries and oocytes and, thereby, the general fertility in ladies.
What impressed you to begin a profession on this area?
Fertility was not a direct selection for me. My background is in biochemistry and meals chemistry, pushed by a curiosity about how food plan and its molecular parts influence human well being.
Nevertheless, throughout my postdoctoral research in France, issues started to align. I labored with frog and fish eggs and noticed how some females constantly produced higher eggs than others. This was intriguing to me. Given the significance of copy to the species’ survival, why didn’t it work each time?
I questioned concerning the many chemical substances within the surroundings. How may the trendy environments, saturated with artificial chemical substances that didn’t exist a century in the past, have an effect on human oocytes and fertility? These questions catalysed my determination to pursue a second postdoctoral examine targeted on the biology of human eggs and embryos.
As soon as the prospect to provoke my unbiased analysis emerged, I used to be able to put all my pursuits collectively and set up a laboratory exploring the hyperlinks between chemical substances and feminine fertility in people.
What influence do chemical substances have on ladies’s reproductive well being?
My analysis has proven that ladies are uncovered to complicated mixtures of environmental chemical substances and air air pollution particles, which we discovered each within the bloodstream and contained in the ovaries, the place the valuable oocytes reside.
We have now discovered vital associations between greater chemical publicity and a smaller reserve of oocytes. This reserve is crucial for the reproductive lifespan. When the reserve of oocytes is gone, fertility is misplaced, and menopause begins.
We additionally discovered vital associations between greater chemical publicity and altered development of the oocytes in the direction of maturity, greater odds of infertility, and decrease probabilities of success in infertility remedies.
These observations stem from cohorts of girls residing in Sweden and, like all epidemiological research, solely signify associations. To show causation, my laboratory is now conducting managed publicity research in vitro to unravel the mechanisms and results of chemical substances in ovarian tissue publicity in a petri dish.
What are the tendencies that you’re observing?
The overall tendencies are constant worldwide: whole fertility charges are declining, and the common age of pregnant ladies is rising.
On common, European ladies have their first baby round 30 years previous. People are one of many only a few species the place fertility ends in sterility midlife, marked as menopause round 45-55 years previous, however fertility declines earlier than this attributable to declining high quality and amount of the oocytes. In follow, because of this the “fertile window” is narrowing, resulting in conditions the place some ladies could discover it difficult to conceive once they start making an attempt at 30. Demand for infertility remedies is on the rise in Europe and elsewhere.
Whereas the explanations behind these tendencies are undoubtedly multifaceted, my analysis signifies that environmental exposures might also be contributing elements.
How do dangerous chemical substances work together with the physique to have an effect on ladies’s reproductive well being?
Loads of analysis is being performed on endocrine-disrupting chemical substances. These chemical substances intrude with the physique’s hormones, affecting hormone-sensitive processes reminiscent of copy. The consequences could also be extra extreme throughout delicate home windows of growth, reminiscent of foetal life, when reproductive organs are forming.
Nevertheless, developmental processes happen in reproductive organs in adults as effectively. For instance, the uterine lining renews as soon as a month – in the mean time of menstruation, and immature oocytes constantly develop in the direction of maturity inside the ovaries. Thus, adults are additionally delicate to these chemical substances.
And endocrine disruption is more likely to be simply one of many some ways by which chemical substances can have an effect on our our bodies. My present analysis focuses on mapping the molecular mechanisms by which chemical substances have an effect on ovaries.
What would you advise as the highest 3 actions a lady can take to scale back the influence of chemical substances on her reproductive well being?
My primary recommendation is to vote for politicians who’re prepared to vary the chemical rules in Europe. Giving ladies lengthy lists of dos and don’ts just isn’t a sustainable technique for managing chemical well being dangers and defending public well being. There are a lot of good initiatives geared toward strengthening the testing and regulation of chemical substances in Europe, and I wholeheartedly assist their speedy implementation with none additional delay!
Having mentioned that, since this is likely one of the commonest questions I obtain, we carried out a small examine on the connections between life-style and the concentrations of some chemical substances in ladies’s ovaries. We discovered that ladies who reported utilizing fragrance every day had extra phthalates of their ovaries in comparison with those that didn’t. We additionally discovered that ladies who consumed extra fish and eggs had greater ranges of PFAS of their ovaries.
This brings me again to the significance of political motion. We are able to advise ladies to keep away from fragrance, however we can not advise them to cease consuming fish and eggs.
When you met a policymaker immediately, what would you ask them to do to guard ladies’s reproductive well being?
I might ask them to instantly implement the chemical laws updates from the Chemical substances Technique for Sustainability. For instance, the anticipated updates to REACH would convey enhanced safety in opposition to endocrine-disrupting chemical substances and chemical mixtures.
Round 70% of chemical substances available on the market haven’t been examined for toxicity in the direction of human well being, and it’s not possible for customers to know the place they’re. The merchandise we purchase in shops don’t have detailed ingredient lists (aside from sure classes like cosmetics and medicines). So after we discover chemical substances within the blood of girls, it’s not possible to inform how they ended up there.
Moreover, reproductive toxicity testing is obligatory just for high-production quantity chemical substances, and people assessments are based mostly on rats, that are very fertile and, for instance, by no means undergo menopause.
Consequently, our understanding of how chemical substances have an effect on fertility in ladies, notably these trying to conceive their first baby at round 30 years of age when fertility in people naturally begins declining, is at finest restricted. It’s essential to reassess how we examine reprotoxicity in contexts extra related to people.