Chronic OP exposure, reflected by these indirect urinary biomarkers, is associated with increased mortality, with heightened vulnerability in younger adults, and underscore the need for stricter pesticide regulation and targeted public health interventions.
Residents of agricultural regions are exposed to complex mixtures of agricultural and household pesticides, yet determinants of exposure remain poorly characterized in low-and middle-income countries, limiting accurate exposure assessment and health risk evaluation. This study aimed to identify self-reported recent and ever behavioural and environmental factors associated with urinary pesticide biomarker levels among children living in three agricultural areas of the Western Cape, South Africa. Between 2017 and 2019, 533 children aged 9-15 years provided 1,814 spot urine samples and completed exposure questionnaires up to five times. Parents and children provided information on exposure factors such as farm residence, use of household pesticides, seeing spray drifts and various pesticide exposure activities. Fourteen biomarkers of pyrethroids, organophosphates, triazoles and dithiocarbamates were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and corrected for specific gravity. Associations between exposure factors and biomarker levels were evaluated using linear mixed-effects models. Recent household pesticide use was associated with up to 57% higher levels of 12 biomarkers, while recent spray drifts exposure was associated with up to 30% higher levels of eight biomarkers. Ever household pesticide use and ever exposure to spray drifts were associated with up to 30% higher levels of IMPy, 2,4-D and 4F3PBA. Use of open drinking water sources was associated with higher TCPy, BCP and ETU levels. Recent exposure factors were consistently associated with urinary biomarker levels than ever exposure factors. The identified exposure factors can inform pesticide exposure characterization in epidemiological analyses and targeted interventions to reduce children's exposure in agricultural communities.
Higher urinary DETP was associated with greater heart disease mortality in middle-aged and older adults, and in vitro experiments provided hypothesis-generating support—most directly for inflammatory signaling—rather than confirmation of the epidemiological pathway.
The need for integrated mitigation strategies that address both environmental exposure and nutritional vulnerability to reduce the health impacts of As among primary schoolchildren from As-affected and apparently control areas is highlighted.
The data do not support a robust county-level association between agricultural pesticide application and later PD mortality, and the apparent weak positive gradient is explained by geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic confounding.
BACKGROUND Studies have indicated that exposure to household pesticides is prevalent among the population. Nevertheless, the relationship and contributing factors linking urinary metabolites of household pesticides to circulating levels of sex steroid hormones in human serum remain insufficiently explored. OBJECTIVE To examine the correlation between household pesticides metabolites and serum sex steroid hormones levels. METHODS This study utilized data from 3,884 participants obtained through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2013 and 2016. NHANES measured urinary metabolites of household pesticides and serum levels of sex steroid hormones. The study utilized weighted multiple linear regression modeling combined with restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis to investigate relationships and dose-response patterns between residential pesticide metabolites and serum sex steroid hormones across both genders. Additionally, the research examined potential modifying effects of obesity status on pesticide metabolite-sex hormone associations through interaction analysis. RESULTS Following adjustment for potential confounders, concentrations of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY), para-nitrophenol (PNP), and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) demonstrated negative correlations with total serum testosterone (TT), estradiol concentrations(E2), and free androgen index (FAI) across all three statistical models (Ps < 0.05), while positive relationships emerged with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). We found the similar results among male participants. However, the negative correlation was not found between TCPY, PNP, 3-PBA and SHBG among female participants RCS modeling revealed complex nonlinear interactions between DCBA and serum sex steroid hormone levels. Analysis stratified by body mass index showed that TCPY, PNP and 3-PBA exhibited similar negative correlations with TT, E2 and FAI in the non-obese participants. CONCLUSIONS The study reveals that the metabolites from household pesticides exhibited negative correlations with serum sex steroid hormone levels across both genders. Associations were more consistent for non-obese populations.
