Urinary Concentrations of Insecticide and Herbicide Metabolites among Pregnant Women in Rural Ghana: A Pilot Study.

Blair Wylie,Antonia Calafat,Kenneth Ae-Ngibise,Robin Whyatt,Seth Owusu-Agyei,Russ Hauser,Ellen Boamah,Patrick Kinney,Mohammed Mujtaba,Darby Jack,Carmen Messerlian,Brent Coull,Kwaku Asante

doi:10.3390/ijerph14040354

Abstract

Use of pesticides by households in rural Ghana is common for residential pest control, agricultural use, and for the reduction of vectors carrying disease. However, few data are available about exposure to pesticides among this population. Our objective was to quantify urinary concentrations of metabolites of organophosphate (OP), pyrethroid, and select herbicides during pregnancy, and to explore exposure determinants. In 2014, 17 pregnant women from rural Ghana were surveyed about household pesticide use and provided weekly first morning urine voids during three visits (n = 51 samples). A total of 90.1% (46/51) of samples had detectable OP metabolites [geometric mean, GM (95% CI): 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol 0.54 µg/L (0.36–0.81), para-nitrophenol 0.71 µg/L (0.51–1.00)], 75.5% (37/49) had detectable pyrethroid metabolites [GM: 3-phenoxybenzoic acid 0.23 µg/L (0.17, 0.32)], and 70.5% (36/51) had detectable 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid levels, a herbicide [GM: 0.46 µg/L (0.29–0.73)]. Concentrations of para-nitrophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in Ghanaian pregnant women appear higher when compared to nonpregnant reproductive-aged women in a reference U.S. population. Larger studies are necessary to more fully explore predictors of exposure in this population.

Highlights

Prenatal exposure to nonpersistent pesticides has been linked to adverse impacts on neurodevelopment, for organophosphates, and for pyrethroids [1,2,3,4,5]
As only pyrethroid insecticides are approved for use to treat bednets in Ghana, we explored whether 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) concentrations, a pyrethroid metabolite detected in many of our participants, varied by ownership and utilization of bednets
We demonstrated widespread pesticide exposure from the frequent detection of urinary concentrations of metabolites of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides, as well as select herbicides, in a sample of 17 pregnant women residing in an agricultural setting in Ghana, West Africa

Summary

Introduction

Prenatal exposure to nonpersistent pesticides has been linked to adverse impacts on neurodevelopment, for organophosphates, and for pyrethroids [1,2,3,4,5]. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 354; doi:10.3390/ijerph14040354 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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