Dataset Information

Pesticide use and kidney function among farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pesticides have been reported to be associated with malignant and non-malignant kidney disease. Few studies have examined the relationship between individual pesticides and kidney dysfunction.

Objective

We evaluated the associations of pesticide use with measured kidney function among male pesticide applicators in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA) study, a subcohort in the Agricultural Health Study.

Methods

Serum creatinine was measured in 1545 BEEA participants and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated with the chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation. Using reported information on lifetime use of 41 pesticides, multivariable linear and logistic regression was used to examine associations with eGFR modeled continuously and with CKD (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m²), respectively. Models were adjusted for possible confounding factors related to kidney function and correlated pesticides.

Results

Lower eGFR was observed among pesticide applicators who ever used the herbicides pendimethalin (-3.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.8%, -1.5%), atrazine (-3.7%, 95% CI: 6.9%, -0.4%), and dicamba (-2.8%, 95% CI: 5.3%, -0.2%) compared with never users of each pesticide. Ever use of pendimethalin (odds ratio (OR)=1.6, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.2) and atrazine (OR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.0, 3.0) was also associated with elevated odds of CKD, with an exposure-response association between intensity-weighted lifetime days of pendimethalin use and CKD among active farmers (N=1302; p_trend=0.04). Atrazine use within the last year was associated with lower eGFR and elevated odds of CKD when compared with never users, and we observed exposure-response associations with intensity-weighted lifetime days among recent users. Use of several other pesticides was associated with higher eGFR.

Discussion

These results suggest that two widely used herbicides, pendimethalin and atrazine, may be associated with altered kidney function among pesticide applicators. Our findings for these herbicides are consistent with observed associations with end-stage renal disease in the Agricultural Health Study.

SUBMITTER: Shearer JJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8489787 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Pesticide use and kidney function among farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.

Shearer Joseph J JJ Sandler Dale P DP Andreotti Gabriella G Murata Kazunori K Shrestha Srishti S Parks Christine G CG Liu Danping D Alavanja Michael C MC Landgren Ola O Beane Freeman Laura E LE Hofmann Jonathan N JN

Environmental research 20210511

<h4>Background</h4>Pesticides have been reported to be associated with malignant and non-malignant kidney disease. Few studies have examined the relationship between individual pesticides and kidney dysfunction.<h4>Objective</h4>We evaluated the associations of pesticide use with measured kidney function among male pesticide applicators in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA) study, a subcohort in the Agricultural Health Study.<h4>Methods</h4>Serum creatinine was measured ...[more]

PMID: 33989625

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Project description:ObjectivesFarmers may be exposed to glucans (a cell component of molds) through a variety of tasks. The magnitude of exposure depends on each farmer's activities and their duration. We developed a task-specific algorithm to estimate glucan exposure that combines measurements of (1→3)-β-D-glucan with questionnaire responses from farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA) study.MethodsTo develop the algorithm, we first derived task-based geometric means (GMs) of glucan exposure for farming tasks using inhalable personal air sampling data from a prior air monitoring study in a subset of 32 BEEA farmers. Next, these task-specific GMs were multiplied by subject-reported activity frequencies for three time windows (the past 30 days, past 7 days, and past 1 day) to obtain subject-, task-, and time window-specific glucan scores. These were summed together to obtain a total glucan score for each subject and time window. We examined the within- and between-task correlation in glucan scores for different time frames. Additionally, we assessed the algorithm for the 'past 1 day' time window using full-shift concentrations from the 32 farmers who participated in air monitoring the day prior to an interview using multilevel statistical models to compare the measured glucan concentration with algorithm glucan scores.ResultsWe focused on the five highest exposed tasks: poultry confinement (300 ng/m3), swine confinement (300 ng/m3), clean grain bins (200 ng/m3), grind feed (100 ng/m3), and stored seed or grain (50 ng/m3); the remaining tasks were <50 ng/m3 and had similar concentrations to each other. Overall, 67% of the participants reported at least one of these tasks. The most prevalent task was stored seed or grain (64%). The highest median glucan scores were observed for poultry confinement and swine confinement; these tasks were reported by 2% and 8% of the participants, respectively. The correlation between scores for the same task but different time windows was high for swine confinement and poultry confinement, but low for clean grain bins. Task-specific scores had low correlation with other tasks. Prior day glucan concentration was associated with the total glucan 'past 1 day' score and with swine confinement and clean grain bin task scores.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the variability and key sources of glucan exposure in a US farming population. It also provides a framework for better glucan exposure assessment in epidemiologic studies and is a crucial starting point for evaluating health risks associated with glucans in future epidemiologic evaluations of this population.

Project description:BackgroundOlfactory impairment (OI) is common among older adults and independently predicts all-cause mortality and the risk of several major neurodegenerative diseases. Pesticide exposure may impair olfaction, but empirical evidence is lacking.ObjectiveWe aimed to examine high pesticide exposure events (HPEEs) in relation to self-reported OI in participants in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS).MethodsWe conducted multivariable logistic regression to examine the associations between HPEEs reported at enrollment (1993–1997) and self-reported OI at the latest AHS follow-up (2013–2015) among 11,232 farmers, using farmers without HPEEs as the reference or unexposed group.ResultsA total of 1,186 (10.6%) farmers reported OI. A history of HPEEs reported at enrollment was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting OI two decades later {odds ratio [Formula: see text] [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.28, 1.73]}. In the analyses on the HPEE involving the highest exposure, the association appears to be stronger when there was a [Formula: see text] delay between HPEE and washing with soap and water [e.g., [Formula: see text] (95% CI: 1.48, 2.89) for 4-6 h vs. [Formula: see text] (95% CI: 1.11, 1.75) for [Formula: see text]]. Further, significant associations were observed both for HPEEs involving the respiratory or digestive tract [[Formula: see text] (95% CI: 1.22, 1.92)] and dermal contact [[Formula: see text] (95% CI: 1.22, 1.78)]. Finally, we found significant associations with several specific pesticides involved in the highest exposed HPEEs, including two organochlorine insecticides (DDT and lindane) and four herbicides (alachlor, metolachlor, 2,4-D, and pendimethalin). HPEEs that occurred after enrollment were also associated with OI development.ConclusionsHPEEs may cause long-lasting olfactory deficit. Future studies should confirm these findings with objectively assessed OI and also investigate potential mechanisms. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3713.

Dataset Information

Pesticide use and kidney function among farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Pesticide use and kidney function among farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.

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