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Toxicant & Disease Database

Toxicant and Disease Database

The CHE Toxicant and Disease Database is a searchable database that summarizes links between chemical contaminants and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions. Diseases and or toxicants can be viewed by utilizing the search options below. In 2025, we have also added links to information available in the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). See a full description of the database and our methodology.

See also our compilation of other Databases and Resources.

For questions or comments about the database, please contact us through our Contact form.

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Immune suppression*

Causes Grouped by strength of evidence

Strong Evidence benzene dioxins / TCDD ionizing radiation tobacco smoke (active smoking) tobacco smoke (secondhand) UV radiation	Good Evidence aldicarb asbestos benzo(a)pyrene carbamates chlordane chlorpyrifos dichlorvos lead mercury methyl isocyanate nickel nitrogen dioxide organochlorine pesticides organophosphates PAHs PBBs PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), not otherwise specified PCDDs PCDFs pentachlorophenol (PCP) pesticides phosgene	Limited Evidence 1,1,1-trichloroethane 2,4-D arsenic atrazine beryllium cadmium carbon tetrachloride chromium copper DES diesel exhaust estrogens / DES ethylene glycol ethers formaldehyde hexachlorobenzene nitrogen dioxide nitrosamines organotins ozone pesticides phenoxyacetic herbicides platinum silica solvents sulfur dioxide tetrachloroethylene (PCE) titanium dioxide toluene tributyl tin oxide trichloroethylene (TCE) triphenyltin urethane vinyl chloride

Notes

* Broad non-specific category that includes decreased levels of circulating immune cells (including white blood cells), decreased levels of circulating antibodies, altered cell function, decreased immune response, decreased resistance to infection, and increased tumor susceptibility. In mice, allelic variation in the Ah receptor has been shown to confer different sensitivities to TCDD. At high concentrations, metals usually exert immunosuppresive effects; however, at lower concentrations immunoenhancement has been observed.

ADDITIONAL DATA: The toxicant–disease relationships shown above were last updated in 2011. The relationships shown here are still valid, but additional research has been conducted since that time. Additional research on this disease can be found at this link:

COMPARATIVE TOXICOGENOMICS DATABASE: CURATED RESULTS
IMMUNE SUPPRESSION

This link will direct your search to an external database, the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). This database is different from, and complementary to, our database.

More information about sources and methods

CHE’s Toxicant and Disease Database evaluates existing evidence and categorizes that evidence based on its strength. It is constructed using expert judgment and epidemiological causal inference.
The CTD, in contrast, is a continually updated resource that presents information on a broad range of literature on chemical-disease relationships. It also provides data on genes, biological processes, and phenotypes related to chemicals and diseases. It does not categorize information based on strength of evidence, include an expert judgment process, or draw causal conclusions about toxicant-disease relationships.
The link we have provided on this page goes directly to CTD's curated results, which are a subset of the information available through CTD. Curated results in CTD are those for which studies are available on the toxicant-disease relationship.