Why hormones matter

Endocrinology is the study of hormones, which are essential for health and wellbeing. Hormones are biological messengers that travel throughout the body, telling cells and tissues what to do. When they are out of balance or fail, this can lead to the development of prevalent chronic diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, cancer, osteoporosis and obesity, and other health challenges such as infertility. There are also more than 400 rare endocrine conditions that affect millions of people in Europe, but often go undetected.  

To learn more about endocrinology and the endocrine system, see the infographic and animation below: 

Joining forces to raise the profile of endocrine health and disease 

Despite scientific progress and increased awareness in some areas, there’s still a lot more that can be done to raise awareness of and address hormonal health. Given that hormones affect such a wide range of conditions, it’s vital that the endocrine community joins forces to push for change.  

To that end, European Hormone Day doesn’t stand alone: there are many other European and worldwide initiatives that we can all add our voice to (perhaps your organisation has one, too).  

For that reason, ESE and ESE Foundation are publishing a leaflet with a calendar of awareness-raising days to help the endocrine community focus our combined efforts over the coming year.  

Download the leaflet [coming soon]

Download the calendar as a poster [coming soon]

Those participating in European Hormone Day on social media will be using the hashtag #BecauseHormonesMatter. We encourage you to use this same hashtag on any endocrine-related awareness days to build momentum around efforts to raise the profile of endocrine health and disease in Europe.