European Hormone Day 2024: Endocrine Community

European Hormone Day 2024: Endocrine community unites to raise public awareness and push for policy action on hormone health

European Hormone Day returns for the third year today, April 24, 2024spotlighting the crucial role of hormones in chronic diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease, cancer and obesity, as well as many rare diseases.

The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), the European Hormone and Metabolism Foundation (ESE Foundation) and partners from key groups and organizations across Europe and beyond will join forces to highlight simple steps we can all take toward better hormone health.

This builds on the success of the previous two campaigns, when the endocrine community made a collective call for change to put hormones at the heart of health policy in Europe, focusing on four key areas including obesity, cancer, rare endocrine diseases and endocrine disrupting diseases. Chemicals. ESE and ESE Foundation published Recognizing the key role of hormones in European healthcare: ‘The Milan Declaration 2022 in 2022, and a public annex to the Milan Declaration, 10 recommendations for good hormone healthin 2023. An updated infographic of the 10 recommendations is available here.

Jérôme Bertherat, president of the ESE, says

“With the European Parliament elections looming, it is essential that we continue to talk about the importance of endocrine issues and ensure that new and returning policy makers are aware of the steps they can take to improve Europe’s hormone health . European Hormone Day is a good opportunity to call for a renewed commitment to legislative initiatives such as REACH, which will tackle the harmful effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and to funding programs that ensure Europe takes the lead in vital endocrinological research.”

An example of this is the conference on ‘The chemicals policy of tomorrow: perspectives and challenges‘, organized yesterday and today (23-24 April 2024) by the Belgian EU Presidency, coinciding with EHD. Experts, scientists, civil society and industry representatives gathered to discuss the current chemicals policy landscape, including endocrine disruptors and ways to improve the effectiveness of REACH legislation. Prof. Dr. Robin Peeters (Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam) spoke on behalf of ESE.

Martin Reincke, chairman of the ESE Foundation, says:

“European Hormone Day is a fantastic opportunity for organizations with a shared interest in endocrine health to join forces and advocate for better hormone health on a much larger scale than we could do individually. We encourage everyone to use the hashtag #BecauseHormonesMatter today and on related awareness days so we can celebrate and learn from others in the endocrine community and spread the message to a wider audience.”

More information about European Hormone Day can be found at www.europeanhormoneday.org

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KEY FACTS – Notes to the Editor:

• In Europe, more than 200,000 new cases of cancer are associated with it obesity every year. Nearly 6 in 10 adults and 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese. In adults, a 5-10% weight reduction can lead to health benefits by reducing obesity-related comorbidities. More needs to be done to recognize obesity as a chronic relapsing disease, mobilize resources for prevention and treatment, and fund research to develop new treatment options.

• Cancer is the second leading cause of death and disease in Europe, contributing to 1.9 million deaths per year. More than 90,000 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed each year, mostly in young women, and the median survival of neuroendocrine tumors is only 41 months. The Beating Cancer Plan and Horizon Europe research calls should take into account the endocrine components of cancer, including longer-term quality of life and the endocrine comorbidities of cancer therapies.
• Rare diseases affect a total of 30 million Europeans, including patients suffering from more than 400 rare endocrine diseases. These patients need faster diagnosis, innovative treatments and equal access to care across Europe. European reference networks bring together knowledge and expertise that can help stimulate innovation and research and should be supported and embedded in national healthcare systems.
• More than 1,500 chemicals of concern (endocrine disrupting chemicals) used in packaging, pesticides and biocides, cosmetics and toys contribute to many cases of endocrine cancers, obesity, diabetes and thyroid disease and to increasing infertility. This generates costs of between 157 and 270 billion euros per year in healthcare costs and lost income. Stricter legislation is needed to protect vulnerable groups in our population, including pregnant women, babies and children, in their development.

About the European Society of Endocrinology

The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) provides a platform for developing and sharing leading research and knowledge in endocrine science and medicine. By uniting and representing every part of the endocrine community, ESE works to improve the lives of patients.

Through the 48 national associations involved in the ESE Council of Affiliated Societies (ECAS) and collaboration with specialist endocrine associations, ESE and its partners collectively represent a community of more than 20,000 European endocrinologists.

ESE and its partner associations work to promote knowledge and education in endocrinology to healthcare professionals, researchers, patients and the public.

ESE informs policymakers about health decisions at the highest level through advocacy across Europe. More information: www.ese-hormones.org.

About the European Hormone and Metabolism Foundation

The overarching purpose of the European Hormone and Metabolism Foundation – Foundation of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE Foundation) is public benefit.

The European Hormone and Metabolism Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving human health. By focusing on people with endocrine disorders, the ESE Foundation’s mission is to promote endocrine health, address endocrine diseases and improve patient care. The Foundation’s purpose is to dedicate itself to endocrine and metabolic health. To ensure the best possible quality of life, the Foundation’s mission is to increase public and political awareness of hormonal and metabolic health and disease, as well as research, policy and care.

More information: www.ese-foundation.org.