Preliminary Research Shows Grandfather’s Environmental Chemical Exposures May Influence When Girls Get First Period

“A grandfather’s exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may impact the age when his granddaughter starts her first period, according to preliminary data being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

“Girls are starting puberty earlier than ever before, which can raise their risk for health problems later in life,” said lead researcher Xin Hu, PhD, of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Ga. “We wanted to explore why this might be happening by looking at how environmental exposures from grandparents can influence when girls get their first period.”

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are substances in the environment (air, soil, or water supply), food sources, personal care products, and manufactured products that interfere with the normal function of the body’s endocrine system. Since EDCs come from many different sources, people are exposed in several ways, including air, food and water. EDCs also can enter the body through the skin.

The researchers used data from the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS), a long-term study that began in the 1960s. They measured thousands of small molecules in blood samples taken from 249 couples in the 1960s. The researchers linked the couples’ chemical and metabolic profiles to the timing of puberty in their daughters and granddaughters.

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Originally published by Eureka Alert