ReviewJournal of mid-life health
Reproductive Health Consequences of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Microplastics in Mid-life Women: A Systematic Review of Emerging Evidence.
Review in Journal of mid-life health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Mid-life women are increasingly recognized as a vulnerable population for endocrine disruption due to chronic environmental exposures. Among emerging contaminants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics have been implicated in reproductive health risks, yet focused evaluations in mid-life populations remain limited. Objective: The to systematically review human studies assessing the association between chronic exposure to PFAS and microplastics with reproductive health outcomes in mid-life women. Methods: We conducted a systematic review adhering to PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Databases searched included PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE up to April 2025. Inclusion criteria were original human studies evaluating PFAS or microplastics in association with at least one reproductive health outcome (e.g., menopause, hormone levels, fertility metrics, and gynecologic conditions) in mid-life women. Study quality was appraised using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Publication bias was qualitatively assessed. PROSPERO Registration ID: CRD42025446217. Results: Eighteen human studies were included (16 PFAS-related, 2 microplastic-related). PFAS exposure was consistently linked with earlier menopause, elevated FSH, reduced fertility, and higher odds of endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Limited studies on microplastics demonstrated their presence in human ovarian follicular fluid and placental tissues, with preliminary evidence of altered ovarian reserve. However, no large-scale epidemiological outcomes for microplastics were available. Conclusion: PFAS are significantly associated with adverse reproductive outcomes in mid-life women. Although microplastics have been detected in reproductive tissues, outcome-based evidence is insufficient. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to clarify these emerging environmental risks.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.