Agricultural pesticides and precocious puberty.

The onset and course of puberty is under the control of the neuroendocrine system. Factors affecting the regulation of timing and order of this system's functions may alter the onset and course of puberty. Several environmental endocrine disruptors (EDs) with significant influences on the normal course of puberty have been identified. Despite the numerous animal and human studies on EDs that may extensively affect human health, there are still several issues that need to be clarified. This chapter discusses the effects of pesticides, which constitute a significant portion of disruptors and have been increasingly used in agriculture, on precocious puberty.