Women's exposure to heavy metals in the period approaching menopause could be linked to lower ovarian reserve, a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reported.
'Metals, including arsenic and cadmium, possess endocrine disrupting characteristics and may be potentially toxic to the ovaries,' said study author Dr Sung Kyun Park, an associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan.
'We need to study the younger population as well to fully understand the role of chemicals in diminished ovarian reserve and infertility.'
