Progress on OCPs and Chronic Disease

The organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) including a large group of insecticides were widely used in the world in the agriculture and household. OCPs are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation, bioaccumulated in body, and enlarged in the food chain, they are great harm to humans and animals. Although OCPs have been banned for about 40 years, they are still remained in the environment. OCPs are toxic to human and animals, and some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic. OCPs are also considered as endocrine disruptors, which interfere with the hormone system and can cause birth defects, reproductive and developmental disorders, as well as some cancerous tumors. There is ongoing concern over the risks to human and wildlife reproductive health of OCPs. This overview introduces the effects of OCPs on human reproduction.