A preliminary estimate of the environmental burden of disease associated with exposure to pyrethroid insecticides and ADHD in Europe based on human biomonitoring

Abstract

Human biomonitoring (HBM) data indicate that exposure to pyrethroids is widespread in Europe, with significantly higher exposure observed in children compared to adults. Epidemiological, toxicological, and mechanistic studies raise concerns for potential human health effects, particularly, behavioral effects such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children at low levels of exposure. Based on an exposure-response function from a single European study and on available quality-assured and harmonized HBM data collected in France, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland, and Israel, a preliminary estimate of the environmental burden of disease for ADHD associated with pyrethroid exposure was made for individuals aged 0–19 years. The estimated annual number of prevalence-based disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per million inhabitants were 27 DALYs for Israel, 21 DALYs for France, 12 DALYs for both Switzerland and Iceland, and 3 DALYs for Germany; while the annual ADHD cases per million inhabitants attributable to pyrethroids were 2189 for Israel, 1710 for France, 969 for Iceland, 944 for Switzerland, and 209 for Germany. Direct health costs related to ADHD ranged between 0.3 and 2.5 million EUR yearly per million inhabitants for the five countries. Additionally, a substantial number of ADHD cases, on average 18%, were associated with pyrethroid exposure. Yet, these figures should be interpreted with caution given the uncertainty of the estimation. A sensitivity analysis showed that by applying a different exposure-response function from outside the EU, the population attributable fraction decreased from an average of 18 to 7%. To ensure more robust disease burden estimates and adequate follow-up of policy measures, more HBM studies are needed, along with increased efforts to harmonize the design of epidemiological studies upfront to guarantee meta-analysis of exposure-response functions. This is particularly important for pyrethroids as evidence of potential adverse health effects is continuously emerging.