Analgesic use - prevalence, biomonitoring and endocrine and reproductive effects

David M. Kristensen (1) , Séverine Mazaud-Guittot (2) , Pierre Gaudriault (2) , Laurianne Lesné (2) , Tania Serrano (2) , Katharina M. Main (1) , Bernard Jégou (3, 2)

1 Department of Growth and Reproduction [Rigshospitalet]
2 Irset - Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail
3 EHESP - École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP]

Paracetamol and NSAIDs, in particular acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and ibuprofen, are among the most used and environmentally released pharmaceutical drugs. The differences in international trends in the sale and consumption of mild analgesics reflect differences in marketing, governmental policies, habits, accessibility, disease patterns and the age distribution of each population. Biomonitoring indicates ubiquitous and high human exposure to paracetamol and to salicylic acid, which is the main metabolite of acetylsalicylic acid. Furthermore, evidence suggests that analgesics can have endocrine disruptive properties capable of altering animal and human reproductive function from fetal life to adulthood in both sexes. Medical and public awareness about these health concerns should be increased, particularly among pregnant women.

Keywords: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs; prenatal paracetamol exposure; over-the-counter; low-dose aspirin; persistent pulmonary-hypertension; blood-plasma levels; acetylsalicylic-acid; n-acetyl-4-aminophenol paracetamol; intrauterine exposure; postmenopausal women

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Ecology, environment; Health

David M. Kristensen, Séverine Mazaud-Guittot, Pierre Gaudriault, Laurianne Lesné, Tania Serrano, et al.. Analgesic use - prevalence, biomonitoring and endocrine and reproductive effects. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2016, 12 (7), pp.381--393. ⟨10.1038/nrendo.2016.55⟩. ⟨hal-01359566⟩