Gender identity disorders: a legacy of fetal exposition to Diethylstilbestrol, an Endocrine Disruptor Chemical

Several data analysed in the first part of this report demonstrate that fetal exposure to xenoestrogen Diethylstilbestrol could have a significant impact on the sexual orientation identity and gender-related behavior: for example, the increase of cases of male homosexuality and the decrease in cases of female homosexuality in US populations of children prenatally exposed to Diethylstilbestrol. In the second part of this work, we report several cases from the French cohort HHORAGES of transgender identity change, Male to Female, of individuals formerly exposed in utero to Diethylstylbestrol. This high prevalence (1,58%) of male to female transgenderism on a cohort of 253 Diethylstilbestrol sons demonstrates for the first time that exposure to xenoestrogen during fetal life has an effect on male sex identity and behavior. Moreover, a qualitative study still in progress realized via the Association Diethylstilbestrol-Sons USA reveals a significant percentage of XY male-to-female transsexuals among a population in utero exposed to Diethylstilbestrol. In the third part of this article, we report from a study of The University California Los Angeles, School of Law's Williams Institute, in 2022 and from a major IPSOS Institute survey in 2024 on the dramatic increase in gender dysphoria among adolescents identifying as “Trans” and whose number in the USA has doubled to 1.6 million during the 5 years between 2017 and 2022. It is highly likely that other endocrine disruptors than Diethylstilbestrol, also mediated by the identical estrogen nuclear receptors ER α and ER β activity, may have the same effect on human sexual identity.