In utero exposure to synthetic sex hormones and their multigenerational impact on neurodevelopmental disorders: endocrine disruptors as neuroendocrine disruptors
Abstract
Background Synthetic sex hormones, estrogens and/or progestogens, have been widely administered without sufficient long-term studies for decades to millions of pregnant women around the world and although most were banned in the 1970s and 1980s, some progestins continue to be prescribed. Psychiatric disorders, including psychoses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, or severe depression, anxiety, eating disorders, as well as ASD (autism spectrum disorders), accompanied or not by co-morbidities, have been described in children exposed in utero. Aim In this review, we have gathered the main works concerning the harmful effects of these synthetic sex hormones on human health and especially on neurodevelopment so that they are recognized, both for the purpose of teaching medical careers and prescribers and as a precaution for the general population and future generations. Methods A review of the literature was carried out by searching the PubMed and Google Scholar databases for the period from 2000 to 2024 following the PRISMA guidelines. Studies were identified using the following keywords: diethylstilbestrol, 17-α-ethinylestradiol, progestins, psychosis and endocrine disrupting compounds, estrogens and epigenetics, multigenerational effects. Results The epigenetic nature of such disorders was demonstrated in 2017 to be linked to hypermethylation of the ZFP57 and ADAMTS9 genes that play an important role in neurodevelopment. The ensuing (third) generation of grandchildren i…
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Children exposed in utero to DES developed schizophrenia (22.9%), depression and bipolar disorder (34.4%), and anxiety disorders and suicide attempts at high prevalence.
“Children who were exposed in utero developed schizophrenia (22.9%), depression and bipolar disorder (34.4%), anxiety disorders and suicide attempts at a high prevalence (Soyer-Gobillard et al., 2025).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Soyer-Gobillard et al., 2025
DES was prescribed to pregnant women in the mid-20th century to prevent miscarriages.
“A well-known example of an estrogenic EDC is diethylstilbestrol (DES), which was prescribed to pregnant women in the mid-20th century to prevent miscarriages (Parent et al., 2011; Soyer-Gobillard et al., 2025).”
From Environmental endocrine disruptors at the synapse: mechanisms linking chemical exposure to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction (2026) · cites this paper as Soyer-Gobillard et al., 2025
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- Authors
- Soyer-Gobillard, M.-O., Gaspari, L., & Sultan, C.
- Affiliations
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- ORCID
- Gaspari, Laura
- Venue
- Journal of the Neurological Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025-05
- Volume
- 472
- Pages
- 123471
- ISSN
- 0022-510X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4409177539
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 0.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of the Neurological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pharmacological Effects and Toxicity Studies
- Keywords
- prenatal exposure, endocrine disruptors, estrogen, progestins, diethylstilbestrol, ethinyl estradiol, multigenerational effects, transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, ZFP57, ADAMTS9, DNA methylation, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, developmental coordination disorder, endometriosis, neurodevelopmental disorders, mental illness
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, Endocrine Disruptors, Neurodevelopmental Disorders
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