Dataset Information

Pesticides applied to crops and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk in the U.S.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Environmental exposures are implicated in the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Application of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides with neurotoxic properties to crops is permitted in the U.S., however reporting of the quantities is government mandated.

Objective

To identify pesticides that may be associated with ALS etiology for future study.

Methods

We geospatially estimated exposure to crop-applied pesticides as risk factors for ALS in a large de-identified medical claims database, the SYMPHONY Integrated Dataverse®. We extracted residence at diagnosis of ∼26,000 nationally distributed ALS patients, and matched non-ALS controls. We mapped county-level U.S. Geological Survey data on applications of 423 pesticides to estimate local residential exposure. We randomly broke the SYMPHONY dataset into two groups to form independent discovery and validation cohorts, then confirmed top hits using residential history information from a study of NH, VT, and OH.

Results

Pesticides with the largest positive statistically significant associations in both the discovery and the validation studies and evidence of neurotoxicity in the literature were the herbicides 2,4-D (OR 1.25 95 % CI 1.17-1.34) and glyphosate (OR 1.29 95 %CI 1.19-1.39), and the insecticides carbaryl (OR 1.32 95 %CI 1.23-1.42) and chlorpyrifos (OR 1.25 95 %CI 1.17-1.33).

Significance

Our geospatial analysis results support potential neurotoxic pesticide exposures as risk factors for sporadic ALS. Focused studies to assess these identified potential relationships are warranted.

SUBMITTER: Andrew A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10756230 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Pesticides applied to crops and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk in the U.S.

Andrew Angeline A Zhou Jie J Gui Jiang J Harrison Antoinette A Shi Xun X Li Meifang M Guetti Bart B Nathan Ramaa R Tischbein Maeve M Pioro Erik P EP Stommel Elijah E Bradley Walter W

Neurotoxicology 20210922

<h4>Background</h4>Environmental exposures are implicated in the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Application of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides with neurotoxic properties to crops is permitted in the U.S., however reporting of the quantities is government mandated.<h4>Objective</h4>To identify pesticides that may be associated with ALS etiology for future study.<h4>Methods</h4>We geospatially estimated exposure to crop-applied pesticides as risk factors for ALS in a lar ...[more]

PMID: 34562505

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Project description:ImportanceHeritability describes the proportion of variance in the risk of developing a condition that is explained by genetic factors. Although amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is known to have a complex genetic origin, disease heritability remains unclear.ObjectivesTo determine the extent of ALS heritability and assess the association of sex with disease transmission.Design, setting, and participantsA prospective population-based parent-offspring heritability study was conducted from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017 to assess ALS heritability, and was the first study to assess heritability in the context of known gene mutations of large effect. A total of 1123 incident cases of ALS, diagnosed according to the El Escorial criteria and recorded on the Irish ALS register, were identified. Ninety-two individuals were excluded (non-Irish parental origin [n = 86] and familial ALS [n = 6]), and 1117 patients were included in the final analysis.Main outcomes and measuresAnnual age-specific and sex-specific standardized ALS incidence and mortality-adjusted lifetime risk were determined. Sex-specific heritability estimates were calculated for the overall study cohort, for those known to carry the C9orf72 (OMIM 614260) variant, and for those with no known genetic risk.ResultsA total of 32 parent-child ALS dyads were identified during the study period. Affected offspring were younger at the onset of disease (mean age, 52.0 years; 95% CI, 48.8-55.3 years) compared with their parents (mean age, 69.6 years; 95% CI, 62.4-76.9 years; P = .008). Lifetime risk of developing ALS in first-degree relatives of individuals with ALS was increased compared with the general population (1.4% [32 of 2234] vs 0.3% [2.6 of 1000]; P < .001). Mean lifetime heritability of ALS for the overall study cohort was 52.3% (95% CI, 42.9%-61.7%) and 36.9% (95% CI, 19.8%-53.9%) for those with no known genetic risk. Heritability estimates were highest in mother-daughter pairings (66.2%; 95% CI, 58.5%-73.9%).Conclusions and relevanceThis population-based study confirms that up to 50% of variance in ALS has a genetic basis, and that the presence of the C9orf72 variant is an important determinant of heritability. First-degree relatives of individuals with ALS without a known genetic basis remain at increased risk of developing ALS compared with the general population. A higher heritability estimate in mother-daughter pairings points to a sex-mediated effect that has been previously unrecognized.

Dataset Information

Pesticides applied to crops and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk in the U.S.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Significance

Publications

Pesticides applied to crops and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk in the U.S.

Similar Datasets

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