Household Use Of Pesticides Research Articles

Maternal use of household pesticides during pregnancy and risk of neuroblastoma in offspring. A pooled analysis of the ESTELLE and ESCALE French studies (SFCE).

Neuroblastoma (NB) is an embryonic tumor that occurs almost exclusively in infancy and early childhood. While considerable evidence suggests that it may be initiated during embryonic development, the etiology of NB is still unknown. The aim of this study was to explore whether there is an association between maternal use of household pesticides during pregnancy and the risk of NB in the offspring. We conducted a pooled analysis of two French national-based case-control studies. The mothers of 357 NB cases and 1,783 controls younger than 6years, frequency-matched by age and gender, responded to a telephone interview that focused on sociodemographic and perinatal characteristics, childhood environment, and life-style. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. After controlling for matching variables, study of origin, and potential confounders, the maternal use of any type of pesticide during pregnancy was associated with NB (OR 1.5 [95% CI 1.2-1.9]). The most commonly used type of pesticides were insecticides and there was a positive association with their use alone (OR 1.4 [95% CI 1.1-1.9]) or with other pesticides (OR 2.0 [95% CI 1.1-3.4]). Although there is the potential for recall bias due to the study design, our findings add to the evidence of an association between the household use of pesticides and NB. Until a better study design can be found, our findings add yet another reason why to advise pregnant women to limit pesticide exposure during the periconceptional period.

Household pesticide exposure and the risk of childhood acute leukemia in Shanghai, China.

Childhood acute leukemia (AL) is the most common malignant tumor in children, but its etiology remains largely unknown. We investigated the relationship between household exposure to pesticides and childhood AL. Between 2009 and 2010 in Shanghai, a total of 248 newly diagnosed cases of AL and 111 gender-, age-, and hospital-matched controls were included. Five nonspecific dialkyl phosphate (DAP) metabolites of organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) [including dimethyl phosphate (DMP), diethyl phosphate (DEP), dimethyl thiophosphate (DMTP), diethyl thiophosphate (DETP), and diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP)] in the urine were analyzed by gas chromatography. The results showed that the median DMP, DEP, DMTP, DETP, and DEDEP levels adjusted for creatinine (Cr) in cases (13.2, 10.0, 31.3, 8.5, and 6.1 μg g(-1), respectively) were all significantly elevated compared with those in controls (3.6, 3.6, 13.3, 2.7, and 1.7 μg g(-1), respectively) (P < 0.05). The household use of mosquito repellent was significantly associated with an increased risk of childhood AL (odds ratio (OR) = 1.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.1). Moreover, higher exposures were significantly associated with an elevated risk of childhood AL for DMs, DEs, and DAPs. Our findings support the notion that the household use of pesticides may play a role in the etiology of childhood AL and provide some evidence to warrant further investigation of the link between household pesticide exposures and childhood AL in Shanghai.

Home use of Pesticides and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Pesticide use has been consistently associated with the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). While household use of pesticides is widespread, the contribution of household pesticide use to...

Temporal variation of residential pesticide use and comparison of two survey platforms: a longitudinal study among households with young children in Northern California

BackgroundPesticide use patterns are essential inputs into human pesticide exposure models. Currently, data included for modeling purposes have mostly been collected in cross-sectional surveys. However, it is questionable whether responses to one-time surveys are representative of pesticide use over longer periods, which is needed for assessment of health impact. This study was designed to evaluate population-wide temporal variations and within-household variations in reported residential pesticide use patterns and to compare alternative pesticide data collection methods – web surveys versus telephone interviews.MethodA total of 481 households in Northern California provided up to 3 annual telephone interviews on residential pesticide use; 182 of these households provided up to 6 quarterly web surveys that covered the same topics for some of the same time periods. Information on frequency and areas of application were collected for outdoor and indoor sprays, indoor foggers, professional applications, and behind-the-neck treatments for pets. Population-wide temporal variation and within-household consistency were examined both within telephone surveys and within web surveys, and quantified using Generalized Estimating Equations and Mixed Effect Modeling. Reporting between the two methods, the telephone survey and the web survey, was also compared.ResultsUse prevalence of outdoor sprays across the population reported in both the annual telephone surveys and the quarterly web surveys decreased over time, as did behind-the-neck treatment of pets reported in the quarterly web survey. Similarly, frequencies of use of these products decreased in the quarterly web surveys. Indoor sprays showed no statistically significant population-wide temporal variation in either survey. Intraclass correlation coefficients indicated consistent use within a household for behind-the-neck treatment on pets and outdoor sprays but great variability for the use of indoor sprays. Indoor sprays were most consistently applied in the bathroom and kitchen. Outdoor sprays were consistently more often applied by male household members, while indoor sprays were not. The two survey approaches obtained fairly similar results on the prevalence of using pesticides, but found discrepancies in use frequencies. In addition, the number of products purchased was positively correlated with application frequency for outdoor sprays (R = 0.51, p = 0.0005) but not for indoor sprays.ConclusionsIn this population, repeated surveys are necessary either to obtain a reliable estimate of the average household use of pesticides or to project potential temporal changes of pesticide use. Web surveys could collect comparable data to traditional telephone surveys for some information. However, researchers need to consider the internet acceptability among the target population and balance lower participant burden against the need for sufficiently accurate time-varying measurement, to improve subject retention in longitudinal surveys.

Reliability of maternal-reports regarding the use of household pesticides: Experience from a case–control study of childhood leukemia

Introduction: Self-reported household pesticide use has been associated with higher risk of childhood leukemia in a number of case–control studies. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of self-reported household use of pesticides and potential differences in reliability by case–control status, and by socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: Analyses are based on a subset of the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study population. Eligible households included those with children less than 8 years old who lived in the same residence since diagnosis (reference date for controls). The reliability was based on two repeated in-person interviews. Kappa, percent positive and negative agreements were used to assess reliability of responses to ever/never use of six pesticides categories. Results: Kappa statistics ranged from 0.31 to 0.61 (fair to substantial agreement), with 9 out of the 12 tests indicating moderate agreement. The percent positive agreement ranged from 46 to 80% and the percent negative agreement from 54 to 95%. Reliability for all pesticide types as assessed by the three reliability measures did not differ significantly for cases and controls as confirmed by bootstrap analysis. For most pesticide types, Kappa and percent positive agreement were higher for non-Hispanics than Hispanics and for households with higher income vs. lower income. Conclusions: Reproducibility of maternal-reported pesticide use was moderate to high and was similar among cases and controls suggesting that differential recall is not likely to be a major source of bias.

PREGNANCY, EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES AND INFANT LEUKEMIA IN BRAZIL

Background and Aims: Infant leukemia (IL) is a rare hematological neoplasm associated with MLL gene rearrangements. Maternal exposures during pregnancy to pesticides, hormones, dipyrone, and topoisomerase-II DNA inhibitors and high birth weight were associated risk factors. Methods: This is a hospital-based multicenter case-control study. Mothers of 252 IL cases and 423 controls were interviewed and data were obtained regarding environmental maternal exposure during periconceptional, pregnancy and breast-feeding periods, including exposure to pesticides. Unconditional logistic regression was performed and odds ratios (OR) on the association between maternal pesticides exposure and IL, including their 95% confidence intervals (CI), were ascertained after adjustment to hormonal intake during pregnancy, mother’s age, mother’s level of education, birth weight and infant’s skin color. Results: An adjusted OR, 2.39, 95% CI, 1.63-3.51 was observed for the association between IL and maternal exposure to pesticides during pregnancy, being higher for acute myeloid leukemia (adjusted OR 3.50, 95% CI, 2.01-6.11). The use of pyrethroids during pregnancy revealed an OR 2.18 (95% CI, 1.44-3.29), while the use of other pesticides showed an OR 3.61 (95% CI, 1.69-7.73). The reported household use of pesticides revealed an adjusted OR 2.25 (95% CI, 1.48-3.43), and agriculture exposure showed an adjusted OR 9.26, (95% CI, 2.82-30.4). According to frequency of exposure, an adjusted OR, 2.48 (95% CI, 1.50 - 4.00) was seem among those reporting up to 1 contact weekly, and an adjusted OR 2.34 (95% CI, 1.30– 4.21) among those with &gt; 1 contact (p-trend &lt; 0.0001). Mixed exposure to different pesticides showed an adjusted OR, 3.83 (95% CI, 1.33-11.0) and the exposure to different chemical classes revealed an adjusted OR, 8.87 (95% CI, 1.55-50.6). Conclusions: The observed results seem to support the hypothesis that mothers’ household use of pesticides and other contaminants may be involved in the etiology of infant leukemia.

STUDY OF THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF HOUSEHOLD USE OF PESTICIDES DURING PREGNANCY ON FETAL GROWTH, FROM THE PELAGIE MOTHER-CHILD COHORT

Background and Aims: Some studies have shown that household pesticide use, indoor or outdoor, may entail significant exposure. Besides, some of these pesticides are suspected to be toxic for development. Our purpose was to determine whether household use of pesticides in early pregnancy was associated with impaired fetal growth of the babies. Methods: A mother-child cohort (PELAGIE) was conducted in Brittany (France) and enrolled 3421 pregnant women before 19 gestational weeks between 2002 and 2006. Birth weight and head circumference were collected from maternity records. A questionnaire of self-reported household use of pesticides in early pregnancy was collected when the child reached 2 years for 44% of the cohort (n=1505). Scores of exposure to eight pesticide uses were built according to the user, frequency, type of products, and place of use, assuming that these differences in use corresponded to different exposure levels Adjusted means of fetal growth indicators were performed from multivariate linear models. Results: A decrease in birth weight was observed with increasing score of exposure to pesticides used on outdoor plants (no use: mean=3387 g; score&lt;median: mean=3351 g; score&gt;median: mean=3278 g; p-trend=0.001). A decreased head circumference was observed with increasing score of exposure to insecticides used on paths and lawns (no use: mean=34.9 cm; score&lt;median: mean=35.1 cm; score&gt;median: mean=34.3 cm; p-trend=0.01), and to a lesser degree with increasing score of exposure to pesticides used to treat wood framework. Conclusions: Our study observed a possible impact on fetal growth of household use of pesticides during pregnancy, in particular to treat plants. We proposed a scoring method to improve assessment of household pesticide exposure. This scoring method appears to be efficient, taking into account all details reported in the questionnaire, and allows to assess dose-response relationships.

PESTICIDES EXPOSURE AND THE RISK OF CHILDHOOD ACUTE LEUKEMIA

Background and Aims: Acute leukemia (AL) is one of the most common malignant tumors among children below the age of 15, and pesticide has been hypothesized as one of the risk factors for AL. In this study, the association between pesticide exposure and the risk of childhood AL is evaluated. Methods: A total of 248 patients with newly diagnosed AL were recruited from four pediatric hospitals in Shanghai between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2010, and 111 controls were matched with the cases based on gender and age. Pesticide exposure was determined by questionnaire and by measuring of organophosphate pesticide (OP) metabolites including Diethyl phosphrate (DEP), Dimethyl phophrate (DMP), Dimethyl thiophosphrate (DMTP), Diethyl thiophosphrate (DETP) and Diethyl dithiophosphrate (DEDTP) in the subjects’ urine using gas chromatography with a flame photometric detector. Results: Total environmental chemical exposure of children [odds ratio (OR)= 9.320, 95% confidence interval (CI):2.842-30.568], maternal chemical exposure during pre-gestation and pregnancy (OR=3.333; 95%CI:1.524-7.289), household use of pesticides (OR=1.786; 95%CI:1.128-2.830), and household use of mosquito insecticides (OR=2.225; 95%CI:1.304-3.796) increased the risk of childhood AL. Median concentrations of organophosphate metabolites (DEP, DMP, DMTP, DETP and DEDTP) in the cases (5.7296, 9.6673, 14.0634, 4.3642, 3.8472µg/gCr respectively) were significantly higher than those in the controls (1.6901, 1.6828, 0.8451, 0.7221, 0.7221µg/gCr respectively) (P&lt;0.05). Conclusions: This study found that chemical exposure and household use of pesticides, especially mosquito insecticides, might be associated with childhood AL, based on higher urine OPs levels in children with AL compared with those in the controls. Our findings add some evidence to the hypothesis that pesticides might be a risk factor for childhood AL. This association of AL risk with pesticide exposure merits further studies to confirm the association.

P2-82 Pregnancy, exposure to pesticides and infant leukaemia in Brazil

Infant Leukaemia is a rare haematological neoplasm associated with MLL gene rearrangements. Maternal exposure during pregnancy to pesticides, hormones, dipyrone, and topoisomerase-II DNA inhibitors and birth weight were associated risk...

Household Exposure to Pesticides and Risk of Childhood Hematopoietic Malignancies: The ESCALE Study (SFCE)

ObjectivesWe investigated the role of household exposure to pesticides in the etiology of childhood hematopoietic malignancies.MethodsThe national registry-based case–control study ESCALE (Etude sur les cancers de l’enfant) was carried out in France over the period 2003–2004. Population controls were frequency matched with the cases on age and sex. Maternal household use of pesticides during pregnancy and paternal use during pregnancy or childhood were reported by the mothers in a structured telephone questionnaire. Insecticides (used at home, on pets, or for garden crops), herbicides, and fungicides were distinguished. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) using unconditional regression models closely adjusting for age, sex, degree of urbanization, and type of housing (flat or house).ResultsWe included a total of 764 cases of acute leukemia (AL), 130 of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), 166 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and 1,681 controls. Insecticide use during pregnancy was significantly associated with childhood AL [OR = 2.1; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7–2.5], both lymphoblastic and myeloblastic, NHL (OR = 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3–2.6), mainly for Burkitt lymphoma (OR = 2.7; 95% CI, 1.6–4.5), and mixed-cell HL (OR = 4.1; 95% CI, 1.4–11.8), but not nodular sclerosis HL (OR = 1.1; 95% CI, 0.6–1.9). Paternal household use of pesticides was also related to AL (OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2–1.8) and NHL (OR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2–2.6); but for AL the relationships did not remain after adjustment for maternal pesticide use during pregnancy.ConclusionThe study findings strengthen the hypothesis that domestic use of pesticides may play a role in the etiology of childhood hematopoietic malignancies. The consistency of the findings with those of previous studies on AL raises the question of the advisability of preventing pesticide use by pregnant women.