Urinary metabolite of pesticide, 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol, is associated with all-cause but not with cancer mortality

Abstract

3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCPY) is a metabolite of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, whose presence in the environment is of potential toxicity to human. So, it is need to monitor and regualte TCPY levels to protect human health. However, it is not known whether TCPY is associated with all-cause and cancer mortality and to which degree its levels contributed to hazard risk. The study enrolled 3951 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure urinary TCPY. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to explore the associations between TCPY and all-cause and cancer mortality. The study found that the average level of TCPY in the cohort was 1.79 μg/L and was higher in those who had passed away. Individuals in the highest quartile had a 1.56-fold independent increase in rate for all-cause mortality compared to those in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio [HR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval 1.09–2.24, p = 0.002). However, while the univariate model showed a hazard ratio of 2.37 (1.19–4.71) for the highest quartile in regards to cancer mortality, this association disappeared after adjusting for demographics, lifestyles, and comorbidities. Exposure to urinary 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol, as a result of insecticide exposure, increased the rate of all-cause mortality but was not independently associated with cancer mortality.