The association between environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals and allergic disorders in children: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Background: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which can interfere with endocrine hormones even before the prenatal period, can disrupt the development and function of the immune system and ultimately increase the susceptibility to allergies later in life.

Materials and methods: We performed a meta-analysis of studies examining the impact of environmental EDCs on allergic disorders. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus up to February 2025 for relevant observational human studies. Allergies studied included allergic rhinitis, asthma, wheezing, atopic dermatitis, chicken pox, eczema, food allergy, hay fever, nonatopic asthma, otitis media, rhinoconjunctivitis, and wheeze.

Results: In the first stage, 2340 studies were included in our review, and finally, we identified 23 studies, including 12736 participants. The pooled results were calculated by the random-effects model. We observed a statistically significant association between EDCs and risk of allergies (pooled RR = 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04, 1.10; I2 = 42.80%; P < 0.001) for overall population. The findings of meta-analysis showed also a positive significant association between exposure to environmental EDCs and risk of allergies in females (pooled RR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.20; I2 = 28.20%; P = 0.021) and males (pooled RR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.09, 1.19; I2 = 20.40%; P = 0.061).

Conclusion: While most allergies showed a clear link with environmental pollution, the limited studies on specific allergies highlight the need for further research to enhance precision. Deeper investigations into underlying mechanisms and clinical implications are crucial for comprehensively understanding this association.