Role of Endocrine Disruptors in the Development of Depressive Disorders

Abstract

Depression is currently the biggest cause of physical and mental disability worldwide and, in parallel with this, modern society is increasingly exposed to chemicals, such as Endocrine Disruptors (EDCs), which are inherent to industrialization. Given the simultaneous occurrence of these two factors, the aim of this study was to investigate whether EDCs somehow contribute to the development of depression, given that these compounds are part of people's daily lives today. To do this, a search was made for studies in the CAPES Periodicals and Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases, using the descriptor ''endocrine disruptors and depression'', and, as inclusion criteria, articles published between 2018 and 2023, clinical studies, cohort studies, case controls and randomized controlled clinical trials dealing with this subject were used, while exclusion criteria were non-original studies, such as literature reviews and meta-analyses, as well as articles that were outside the proposed theme, resulting in 23 articles for discussion. After studying these studies, it was observed that EDCs, especially the most popular ones, such as folates, bisphenols, organophosphates and nonphenol, can induce depressive symptoms because they cause alterations in brain structures involved in maintaining mood, such as the hippocampus, and compromise the functionality of neurotransmitters by altering their stability.

Keywords: Endocrine Disruptors; Depression; Industrialization.