Occupational exposure to synthetic estrogens: some methodological problems

Occupational exposure to synthetic estrogen is known to produce feminizing effects in males and menstrual disorders in females. Modern pharmaceutical practice has not eliminated this risk, though there have been few attempts to quantify it or establish safety standards. The main problems to be faced in undertaking an epidemiologic study of estrogen-exposed workers are outlined in the present study. They include the difficulty of confirming the clinical effects of exposure, the appropriate method for measuring exogenous estrogen, and the timing of the analytical samples. Some recent studies which used other measures of pharmacological effect are reviewed, and it is concluded that direct measurement of exogenous estrogen is the analysis of choice.