Eating for Two: Does an Organic Diet Make a Difference?

Abstract

Vol. 124, No. 3 News | Science SelectionsOpen AccessEating for Two: Does an Organic Diet Make a Difference?is accompanied byOrganic Food Consumption during Pregnancy and Hypospadias and Cryptorchidism at Birth: The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) Carol Potera Carol Potera Search for more papers by this author Published:1 March 2016https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.124-55View Article in:中文版AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InReddit The organic food market is one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. and European agricultural industries,1,2 but few conclusions have been reached regarding whether organic foods are actually better for consumers than their conventional counterparts. A study in this issue of EHP probed that question and estimated that women who ate organic food during pregnancy were 58% less likely to deliver boys with hypospadias, a common urogenital birth defect, than mothers who never ate any.3The study analyzed 35,107 women and their male infants who participated in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The women filled out a food frequency questionnaire that asked about their consumption of six categories of organic food (vegetables, fruits, cereals, milk/dairy, eggs, and meat) during the first four months of pregnancy.Women who ate organic vegetables during pregnancy had fewer babies with hypospadias, but it’s unclear to what degree, if any, the choice of organic food was responsible. Organic or not, it’s important for pregnant women to eat plenty of produce.© Ariel Skelley/GettyAbout 48% of the women reported eating at least one of the organic food groups “often/mostly” or “sometimes.” The women in these two groups gave birth to 22 infants with hypospadias. The other half of the women reported “never/seldom” eating organic foods, and 52 cases of hypospadias occurred in these mothers. Of all the food groups, organic vegetables had the strongest association with lower prevalence of hypospadias.3The researchers also assessed prevalence of cryptorchidism, another common birth defect in boys. They found no association between cryptorchidism among the boys and organic food consumption by their mothers.3In hypospadias, the urinary opening of the urethra forms on the underside, rather than at the head, of the penis. If not corrected surgically, hypospadias may impair fertility or lead to testicular cancer.4 The prevalence of hypospadias appears to have been rising in some areas, by one estimate affecting 4–6 boys per 1,000 male births.5Hypospadias develops during weeks 8–14 of pregnancy, and its causes are unknown.4 The development of external male genitalia is a complex process that involves pathways susceptible to genetic, endocrine, and environmental factors. Because many pesticides contain endocrine-active chemicals,6 it has been suggested that reduced pesticide exposures among pregnant women who eat organic food may protect their unborn children against endocrine-related health effects such as hypospadias. However, this remains a “purely hypothetical suggestion,” says study leader Anne Lise Brantsæter, a senior scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.Preeclampsia also is associated with increased risk for hypospadias.7 Previously, Brantsæter and her colleagues showed reduced incidence of preeclampsia among pregnant women who ate organic vegetables, compared with those who didn’t.8Strengths of the study include its prospective design and large cohort. It is limited by the lack of detailed information on diet and family history of hypospadias, as well as lack of biospecimen data, which would indicate whether eating organic produce actually translated into lower pesticide exposures. The authors caution that their findings were based on small numbers of cases and require replication in other study populations. In addition, selecting organic food may be a proxy for other behaviors that would reduce exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as choices in cleaning products and personal care products.3According to Cynthia Curl, an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Health at Boise State University, there’s little evidence to support or dispute the perception by some consumers that organic food is healthier than conventional alternatives. “We need epidemiological research like Brantsæter’s to provide consumers with information they can use to decide when and what organic food to buy,” says Curl, who was not involved in the study.In the meantime, Brantsæter recommends that all pregnant women eat a balanced diet that includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, regardless of whether the produce is organic or not. “The beneficial health effects of vegetables and fruits are well established,” she says, “whereas the jury is still out on the benefits of organic alternatives.”References1 OTA. Market Analysis [website]. Washington, DC:Organic Trade Association. Available: http://ota.com/resources/market-analysis [accessed 7 January 2016]. Google Scholar2 Willer H, et al. The European Market for Organic Food. Frankfurt am Main, Germany:Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) (7 January 2014). Available: http://www.biofach.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/de/news/2014/willer-schaack-2014-biofach-europe-market.pdf [accessed 7 January 2016]. Google Scholar3 Brantsæter ALet al.Organic food consumption during pregnancy and hypospadias and cryptorchidism at birth: the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).Environ Health Perspect 124(3):357-3642016., doi:10.1289/ehp.140951826307850. Link, Google Scholar4 CDC. Facts about Hypospadias [website]. Atlanta, GA:U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (updated 13 November 2015). Available: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/Hypospadias.html [accessed 7 January 2016]. Google Scholar5 Carmichael SLet al.Environmental and genetic contributors to hypospadias: a review of the epidemiologic evidence.Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 94(7):499-5102012., doi:10.1002/bdra.2302122678668. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar6 Toppari Jet al.Cryptorchidism and hypospadias as a sign of testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS): environmental connection.Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 88(10):910-9192010., doi:10.1002/bdra.2070720865786. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar7 Akre Oet al.Risk factor patterns for cryptorchidism and hypospadias.Epidemiology 10(4):364-3691999., PMID:10401869. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar8 Torjusen Het al.Reduced risk of pre-eclampsia with organic vegetable consumption: results from the prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study.BMJ Open 4(9):e0061432014., doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006143. Crossref, Medline, Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsRelated articlesOrganic Food Consumption during Pregnancy and Hypospadias and Cryptorchidism at Birth: The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)9 July 2015Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 124, No. 3 March 2016Metrics About Article Metrics Publication History Originally published1 March 2016Published in print1 March 2016 Financial disclosuresPDF download License information EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted. Note to readers with disabilities EHP strives to ensure that all journal content is accessible to all readers. However, some figures and Supplemental Material published in EHP articles may not conform to 508 standards due to the complexity of the information being presented. 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