Best article published by a CRU member 2025
The CRU board regularly awards a prize for the best scientific peer-reviewed articles published by a CRU.
Winner 2025
The winner of CRU's best article 2025 is Associations between lifestyle factors and levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), phthalates and parabens in follicular fluid in women undergoing fertility treatment by Ida Hallberg et al, published in Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology. The study shows that women’s lifestyle habits significantly influence levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in ovarian follicular fluid.
Motivation
The article by Hallberg and colleagues fulfills all the required criteria for winning this prestigious prize! The authors provide novel and crucial information about the high levels of known endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in our environment that is a severe global environmental problem caused by human activities.
The study was performed in collaboration between SLU and Uppsala University and concerns how the high levels of toxic compounds such as EDCs in our environment could have a fundamental negative effect on female fertility. The authors analyzed how levels of EDCs present in the ovarian microenvironment in women that underwent in vitro fertilization perturbed the success of the treatment.
The study provides convincing results that increased exposure to EDCs caused by our lifestyle choices may lead to increased systemic levels of EDCs that indeed have adverse effects on female infertility. Their findings should lead to stronger recommendations aimed at limiting exposure to these environmental contaminants in general and in particular during pregnancy. Ultimately, the convincing evidence obtained from the study can be used to pressure both national and global decision makers to act to place further restrictions aimed at reducing the levels of EDCs in our environment.
Read the article
Hallberg, I., Björvang, R. D., Hadziosmanovic, N., Koekkoekk, J., Pikki, A., van Duursen, M., Lenters, V., Sjunnesson, Y., Holte, J., Berglund, L., Persson, S., Olovsson, M., & Damdimopoulou, P. (2023). Associations between lifestyle factors and levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), phthalates and parabens in follicular fluid in women undergoing fertility treatment. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology. 10.1038/s41370-023-00579-1
