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BMC Public Health Sep 2023Knowledge surrounding the association between exposure to pesticides and hypothyroidism is inconsistent and controversial. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Knowledge surrounding the association between exposure to pesticides and hypothyroidism is inconsistent and controversial.
METHODS
The aim of present study was, therefore, to review scientific evidence systematically and conduct a meta-analysis into the contribution of exposure to pesticides to hypothyroidism. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched. The findings are presented as OR, HR, PR, IRR, and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). A fixed-effect model using the inverse-variance method and random-effects inverse-variance model with DerSimonian-Laird method were used for estimating the pooled estimates. Cochran Q and I tests were used to confirm the heterogeneity of selected studies.
RESULTS
Twelve studies were included in the systematic review, and 9 studies in the meta-analysis. Epidemiological evidence suggested that exposure to insecticides including organochlorines, organophosphates, and pyrethroids increased risk of hypothyroidism (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.23, 95%CI = 1.14, 1.33 for organochlorines, aOR = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.07, 1.17 for organophosphates, aOR = 1.15, 95%CI = 1.03, 1.28 for pyrethroids). Exposure to herbicides also increased risk of hypothyroidism (aOR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.02, 1.10). However, exposure to fungicides and fumigants was not found to be associated with hypothyroidism.
CONCLUSION
To increase current knowledge and confirm evidence to date future research needs to center on large-scale longitudinal epidemiological and biological studies, examination of dose-response relationships, the controlling of relevant confounding variables, using standardized and high sensitivity tools, and investigating the effects of environmental exposure.
Topics: Humans; Pesticides; Insecticides; Environmental Exposure; Hypothyroidism; Pyrethrins
PubMed: 37752464
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16721-5 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2021Brain tumors are the second most common neoplasm in the pediatric age. Pesticides may play an etiologic role, but literature results are conflicting. This review... (Review)
Review
Parental Pesticide Exposure and Childhood Brain Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Confirming the IARC/WHO Monographs on Some Organophosphate Insecticides and Herbicides.
BACKGROUND
Brain tumors are the second most common neoplasm in the pediatric age. Pesticides may play an etiologic role, but literature results are conflicting. This review provides a systematic overview, meta-analysis, and IARC/WHO consideration of data on parental exposure to pesticides and childhood brain tumors.
METHODS
We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar for literature (1 January 1966-31 December 2020) that assessed childhood brain tumors and parental exposure to pesticides. We undertook a meta-analysis addressing prenatal exposure, exposure after birth, occupational exposure, and residential exposure. A total of 130 case-control investigations involving 43,598 individuals (18,198 cases and 25,400 controls) were included.
RESULTS
Prenatal exposure is associated with childhood brain tumors (odds ratio, OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.17-1.49; I = 41.1%). The same occurs after birth exposure (OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.03-1.45, I = 72.3%) and residential exposure to pesticides (OR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11-1.54, I = 67.2%). Parental occupational exposure is only marginally associated with CBT (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.99-1.38, I = 67.0%).
CONCLUSIONS
There is an association between CBT and parental pesticides exposure before childbirth, after birth, and residential exposure. It is in line with the IARC Monograph evaluating the carcinogenicity of diazinon, glyphosate, malathion, parathion, and tetrachlorvinphos.
PubMed: 34943292
DOI: 10.3390/children8121096 -
International Archives of Occupational... Jan 2023The widespread use of pesticides poses serious health hazards to farmers and their families. Some evidence shows that culturally sensitive interventions could be... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
The widespread use of pesticides poses serious health hazards to farmers and their families. Some evidence shows that culturally sensitive interventions could be associated with improved outcomes; however, little is known about the effectiveness of cultural adaptations in interventions among farmers and farmworkers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to summarize strategies used in the cultural adaptation interventions addressing the reduction of pesticide exposure in farmers and farmworkers, as well as assessing the effects of these strategies.
METHODS
A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Clarivate Web of Science, Scopus, NIOSHTIC, Agricola, Agris, as well as reference lists to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English from January 2000 until March 2022. Data were extracted to examine the characteristics of interventions in terms of the cultural adaptation strategies and their effectiveness by two independent reviewers.
RESULTS
Eleven articles from ten trials met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies were conducted in the USA (n = 7) and were ranked as poor quality (n = 5). Four of the ten studies were rated moderate, and six were rated weak. The socio-cultural and constituent-involving strategies were the most commonly reported across the included studies, followed by linguistic strategy. Six studies (seven articles) were tailored for subgroups or individuals. Overall, 8 of 10 studies reported significant changes in whole and some outcomes in the intervention groups over controls. Seven studies received moderate cultural adaptation scores which may reflect the moderate effectiveness of the interventions.
CONCLUSION
Our review underscored the paucity and low quality of existing studies investigating the culturally adapted interventions in reducing farmers' and farmworkers' pesticide exposure. Future high-quality culturally sensitive studies could increase our knowledge regarding the culture's role in reducing pesticide exposure in farmers and farmworkers.
Topics: Humans; Pesticides; Farmers; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 35838774
DOI: 10.1007/s00420-022-01880-6 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during critical neurodevelopmental windows has been associated with the risk of autistic traits. This systematic review...
AIMS
Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during critical neurodevelopmental windows has been associated with the risk of autistic traits. This systematic review of epidemiological studies examined the association between maternal exposure to EDCs during pregnancy and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the offspring.
METHODS
We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar from inception to November 17, 2022, for studies investigating the association between prenatal exposure to EDCs and outcomes related to ASD. Two independent reviewers screened studies for eligibility, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023389386).
RESULTS
We included 27 observational studies assessing prenatal exposure to phthalates (8 studies), polychlorinated biphenyls (8 studies), organophosphate pesticides (8 studies), phenols (7 studies), perfluoroalkyl substances (6 studies), organochlorine pesticides (5 studies), brominated flame retardants (3 studies), dioxins (1 study), and parabens (1 study). The number of examined children ranged from 77 to 1,556, the age at the assessment of autistic traits ranged from 3 to 14 years, and most studies assessed autistic traits using the Social Responsiveness Scale. All but one study was considered to have a low risk of bias. Overall, there was no association between maternal exposure to specific ECDs during pregnancy and the occurrence of autistic traits in offspring.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings from the epidemiological studies evaluated here do not support an association between prenatal exposure to ECDs and the likelihood of autistic traits in later in life. These findings should not be interpreted as definitive evidence of the absence of neurodevelopment effects of EDCs affecting ASD risk, given the limitations of current studies such as representative exposure assessment, small sample sizes, inadequacy to assess sexually dimorphic effects, or the effects of EDC mixtures. Future studies should carefully address these limitations.
Topics: Child; Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Adolescent; Child, Preschool; Endocrine Disruptors; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Autistic Disorder; Pesticides; Epidemiologic Studies
PubMed: 37361542
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1184546 -
Environmental Research Jun 2020An evidence-based understanding of factors influencing PPE use and pesticide safety practices has the benefit of facilitating the design of interventions to minimize...
An evidence-based understanding of factors influencing PPE use and pesticide safety practices has the benefit of facilitating the design of interventions to minimize exposure to pesticides and the promotion of the utilization of PPE and safety practices among agricultural pesticide handlers. The aim of this study, therefore, is to review the available literature on the use of PPE in agricultural pesticide handlers in world regions, and also the factors associated with the use of PPE and pesticide safety practices in farmers and farm workers. Full-text articles published on PubMed, Scopus, and ISI databases between 1999 and 2019 were reviewed and the scientific evidence was evaluated. One hundred and twenty-one articles were eligible for inclusion in this quantitative synthesis: 110 evaluated PPE use in agricultural pesticide handlers, and 23 focused on factors affecting PPE use and pesticide safety practices. Considerable evidence was found to show that the most basic PPE worn among pesticide handlers in all world regions was a long sleeve shirt (66.1%), long sleeve trousers (71.1%), and a hat (47.3%). The lowest basic PPE worn was an apron (8.6%), goggles (24.3%), gloves (40.5%), boots (42.3%), and mask (43.2%). The PPE worn (except for an apron) was proportionally higher in farmers than in farm workers. There is considerable evidence to suggest that the significant determinants associated with PPE use and pesticide safety practices are as follows: (1) demographic factors (i.e. education/literacy level, experience of illness, income); (2) farm structure factors (i.e. farm size); (3) behavioral and psychosocial factors (i.e. contact with pesticides, perceptions, attitudes, awareness, norms and beliefs); and (4) environmental factors (i.e. information about pesticides, access to extension services, training program, and farm organization). Therefore, there is a recognizable need for a life-long education program with training to change the perception and behavior of pesticide handlers sustainably.
Topics: Agriculture; Farmers; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Occupational Exposure; Personal Protective Equipment; Pesticides; Safety
PubMed: 32247154
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109444 -
Journal of Ethnopharmacology Aug 2017The antimicrobial potential of Tagetes minuta was correlated with its traditional use as antibacterial, insecticidal, biocide, disinfectant, anthelminthic, antifungal,... (Review)
Review
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
The antimicrobial potential of Tagetes minuta was correlated with its traditional use as antibacterial, insecticidal, biocide, disinfectant, anthelminthic, antifungal, and antiseptic agent as well as its use in urinary tract infections.
AIM OF THE STUDY
This study aimed to systematically review articles and patents regarding the antimicrobial activity of T. minuta and give rise to perspectives on this plant as a potential antimicrobial agent.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A literature search of studies published between 1997 and 2015 was conducted over five databases: MedLine (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Portal de Periódicos Capes and SciFinder, grey literature was explored using the System for Information on Dissertations database, and theses were searched using the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Full text database and the Periódicos Capes Theses database. Additionally, the following databases for patents were analysed: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Google Patents, National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and Espacenet patent search (EPO). The data were tabulated and analysed using Microsoft Office Excel 2010.
RESULTS
After title screening, 51 studies remained and this number decreased to 26 after careful examinations of the abstracts. The full texts of these 26 studies were assessed to check if they were eligible. Among them, 3 were excluded for not having full text access, and 11 were excluded because they did not fit the inclusion criteria, which left 10 articles for this systematic review. The same process was conducted for the patent search, resulting in 4 patents being included in this study.
CONCLUSION
Recent advances highlighted by this review may shed light on future directions of studies concerning T. minuta as a novel antimicrobial agent, which should be repeatedly proven in future animal and clinical studies. Although more evidence on its specificity and clinical efficacy are necessary to support its clinical use, T. minuta is expected to be a highly effective, safe and affordable treatment for infectious diseases.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents; Insecticides; Oils, Volatile; Plant Preparations; Tagetes
PubMed: 28668646
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2017.06.046 -
Current Environmental Health Reports Sep 2022Parental occupational exposures might be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in offspring. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Parental occupational exposures might be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in offspring. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize and synthesize the current literature and to estimate the pooled magnitude of the underlying association(s) between parental occupational exposures and subsequent risk of NDDs.
RECENT FINDINGS
In the meta-analysis of 20 included studies, significant associations were found between parental occupational exposure to pesticides or solvents and the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in offspring. Prenatal occupational exposure to pesticides was significantly associated with motor development or cognition disorders in children. Furthermore, some evidence showed that metals might have a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders. Further studies need to identify the level of parental occupational exposures that can be significantly associated with NDDs. Moreover, utilizing standardized outcome and exposure scales is recommended to incorporate paternal, maternal, and parental as well as both prenatal and postnatal exposure in future studies.
Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child; Female; Humans; Maternal Exposure; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Occupational Exposure; Pesticides; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
PubMed: 35522387
DOI: 10.1007/s40572-022-00356-6 -
Environmental Research Oct 2023Synthetic pesticides (e.g. herbicides, fungicides and insecticides) are used widely in agriculture to protect crops from pests, weeds and disease. However, their use... (Review)
Review
Synthetic pesticides (e.g. herbicides, fungicides and insecticides) are used widely in agriculture to protect crops from pests, weeds and disease. However, their use also comes with a range of environmental concerns. One key concern is the effect of insecticides on non-target organisms such as bees, who provide pollination services for crops and wild plants. This systematic literature review quantifies the existing research on bees and insecticides broadly, and then focuses more specifically on non-neonicotinoid insecticides and non-honeybees. We find that articles on honeybees (Apis sp.) and insecticides account for 80% of all research, with all other bees combined making up 20%. Neonicotinoids were studied in 34% of articles across all bees and were the most widely studied insecticide class for non-honeybees overall, with almost three times as many studies than the second most studied class. Of non-neonicotinoid insecticide classes and non-honeybees, the most studied were pyrethroids and organophosphates followed by carbamates, and the most widely represented bee taxa were bumblebees (Bombus), followed by leaf-cutter bees (Megachile) and mason bees (Osmia). Research has taken place across several countries, with the highest numbers of articles from Brazil and the US, and with notable gaps from countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania. Mortality was the most studied effect type, while sub-lethal effects such as on behaviour were less studied. Few studies tested how the effect of insecticides were influenced by multiple pressures, such as climate change and co-occurring pesticides (cocktail effects). As anthropogenic pressures do not occur in isolation, we suggest that future research also addresses these knowledge gaps. Given the changing global patterns in insecticide use, and the increasing inclusion of both non-honeybees and sub-lethal effects in pesticide risk assessment, there is a need for expanding research beyond its current state to ensure a strong scientific evidence base for the development of risk assessment and associated policy.
Topics: Bees; Animals; Insecticides; Neonicotinoids; Pesticides; Pyrethrins; Fungicides, Industrial; Crops, Agricultural
PubMed: 37454798
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116612 -
Environmental Research Feb 2020Humans are exposed to complex chemical mixtures, such as pesticides. Although the need for the assessment of health and environmental hazards deriving from the...
Humans are exposed to complex chemical mixtures, such as pesticides. Although the need for the assessment of health and environmental hazards deriving from the interactions between various substances found in commercial pesticide formulations is becoming increasingly recognized, the approval of pesticide products is still mostly limited to determining the toxicity of the individual ingredients ignoring the possible combined effects in mixtures. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature of in vitro and in vivo studies that simultaneously examine the toxicity of pesticide product formulations and their declared active ingredients to compare their toxicity to human health and to the environment. Two electronic databases were searched for studies that assessed the health effects of active pesticide ingredients and their product formulations. The literature search was performed with a combination of the following terms: "pesticide", "formulation", "commercial product", "commercial pesticide" and "health". After screening by predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, quality and reliability assessment of eligible publications was conducted by use of the ToxRTool. Two investigators independently screened the identified publications and extracted results from eligible studies. Our search yielded 36 toxicity studies; 23 studies investigated herbicides, 15 examined insecticides and 4 focused on fungicides. Twenty-four studies reported increased toxicity of the product formulations versus their active ingredients, which, in most cases, were attributed to the presence of adjuvants in the formulations. A significant number (n = 10) of studies focused on the comparative testing of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, and six of them concluded that Roundup, the dominant product formulation of glyphosate, is more toxic than the active ingredient alone. We identified only 8 studies demonstrating reduced toxicity of product formulations in relation to the active ingredient that might be due to a potential antagonistic effect between the constituents. The results of this review demonstrate the inadequacy of current EU testing requirements for assessing the health hazards of pesticide product formulations based mainly on the evaluation of the individual ingredients and of at least one representative use and formulation. Ignoring the possible risks deriving from the interaction between the active and other ingredients of various commercial pesticide product formulations might result in the misinterpretation of its toxicological profile. At EU level efforts are currently made to address this issue. In this context, we recommend that all product formulations should be fully assessed during the authorization process.
Topics: Herbicides; Humans; Pesticides; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31791711
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108926 -
Neurotoxicology Jul 2017The overall aim of this systematic review was to identify risk factors for onset and natural progression, which were shown to increase, decrease, or have a null... (Review)
Review
The overall aim of this systematic review was to identify risk factors for onset and natural progression, which were shown to increase, decrease, or have a null association with risk of primary brain tumour. For onset, the project was separated into two phases. The first phase consisted of a systematic search of existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Moderate to high methodological quality reviews were incorporated and summarized with relevant observational studies published since 2010, identified from a systematic search performed in phase 2. For natural progression, only the first phase was conducted. Standard systematic review methodology was utilized. Based on this review, various genetic variants, pesticide exposures, occupational farming/hairdressing, cured meat consumption and personal hair dye use appear to be associated with increased risk of onset amongst adults. The specific EGF polymorphsm 61-A allele within Caucasian populations and having a history of allergy was associated with a decreased risk. For progression, M1B-1 antigen was shown to increase the risk. High birth weight, pesticide exposure (childhood exposure, and parental occupational exposure) and maternal consumption of cured meat during pregnancy may also increase the risk of onset of childhood brain tumours. Conversely, maternal intake of pre-natal supplements (folic acid) appeared to decrease risk. Children with neurofibromatosis 2 were considered to have worse overall and relapse free survival compared to neurofibromatosis 1, as were those children who had grade III tumours compared to lesser grades.
Topics: Age of Onset; Brain Neoplasms; Disease Progression; Epidermal Growth Factor; Humans; Ki-67 Antigen; Mutation; Neurofibromatosis 1; Neurofibromatosis 2; Pesticides; Risk Factors; Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein
PubMed: 27212451
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2016.05.009