Table 1.
Epidemiological evidence on the relevance of environmental pollutant exposure with disease incidence.
| Classification | Diseases | Main chemicals | Related Population | Morbidity | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases | Pulmonary diseases | Diesel exhaust, a mixture of burning gas, and ultrafine particulate matters coated with organic compounds | Railroad workers in the United States | The global deaths from chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were 4.1 million and 17.9 million in 2019, increased by 10% and 25% since 2000, respectively. | [82] |
| PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide | Patients with COPD | [83] | |||
| PM10 | Men | [88] | |||
| Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 | Children aged 9 to 14 with asthma | [84] | |||
| Cardiovascular diseases | PM2.5, PM10, sulfur dioxide and ozone | Adults | [[85], [86], [87], [88]] | ||
| Endocrine diseases | Diabetes (T2D) | PCBs, DDT, DDE, DDD, Dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals, Trans-Nonachlor, PM2.5, Cd | Adults | An estimated 46.3% of people over the age of 20 already have been suffering from diabetes in the United States. | [93,96,97] |
| Thyroid disease | PCB congeners (99, 139, 153, 180, 183, and 187) | Pregnant woman | Spontaneous hypothyroidism: 0.35% in women and 0.06% in men; hyperthyroidism: 0.5%–2% in women and 0.05%–0.2% in men; nodular goiter: 0.1%; thyroid cancer: 1 to 10 per 100,000. | [99] | |
| PCB congeners (99, 139, 153, 180, 183, 187, 194, and 199) | Adults | [104] | |||
| PCBs and dioxins | Adults over 60 years of age | [105] | |||
| Obesity | DDT, DDE | Pregnant mothers and 7-year-old children | As of 2008, among the population over the age of 20 worldwide, an estimated 1.5 billion people were overweight, of which about 33% were obese. | [110,114] | |
| Atmospheric fine particulate matter | Veterans in the United States | [111] | |||
| Phthalates | Children aged 4 to 7 exposed during pregnancy | [115] | |||
| Reproductive diseases | Decreased semen quality | BPA | Young men | 20%–40% in young men. | [117,118] |
| PM2.5, PM10 | [119] | ||||
| Success rates of IVF | Methylparaben | Fathers involved in IVF | – | [123] | |
| Menstruation disorders | PFASs (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA) | Prepregnant women | – | [122] | |
| Endometriosis | PCBs (118, 138, 153 and 170), p,p′-DDE, PFBS | Women | 10%–15% in women of childbearing age | [120,121] | |
| Infertility | Pesticides (organophosphate and pyrethroids) | Women | Infertility in developed and developing countries is 3.5%–16.7% and 6.9%–9.3%, respectively. | [124] | |
| Nervous system diseases | Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) | Heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, nickel, etc.), chlorinated solvents (vinyl chloride, trichloroethylene), air pollutants, phthalates | Perinatal women and children | ASD in 8-year-old children in the United States has increased from 1 in 2500 to 1 in 59 children in recent 40 years. | [[128], [129], [130], [131], [132]] |
| Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | BPA, phthalates and PFOA | Children | Childhood exposure was associated with ADHD, and boys seemed to be more vulnerable than girls. | [[137], [138], [139], [140]] | |
| Alzheimer’s disease (AD) | Aluminum, PM2.5, Air pollution | The aged | – | [143,145,146] | |
| Pesticides, fumigants or defoliant, organophosphate | Occupational populations | – | [[147], [148], [149]] | ||
| Others | Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) | BPA, POPs (PCDD, PCDF, PCBs) | Adults | 30% of the total population in the United States were suffering from NAFLD. | [[152], [153], [154]] |