Samuel Fuhrimann1, Andrea Farnham2, Philipp Staudacher3, Aggrey Atuhaire4, Tiziana Manfioletti2, Charles B Niwagaba5, Sarah Namirembe4, Jonathan Mugweri4, Mirko S Winkler2, Lutzen Portengen6, Hans Kromhout6, Ana M Mora7. 1. Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: s.fuhrimann@uu.nl. 2. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 3. Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics (IBP), ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. 4. Uganda National Association of Community and Occupational Health (UNACOH), Kampala, Uganda. 5. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. 6. Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. 7. Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET), Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica; Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH), School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Multiple epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to single pesticide active ingredients or chemical groups is associated with adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in farmers. In agriculture, exposure to multiple pesticide active ingredients is the rule, rather than exception. Therefore, occupational studies on neurobehavioral effects of pesticides should account for potential co-exposure confounding. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 288 Ugandan smallholder farmers between September and December 2017. We collected data on self-reported use of pesticide products during the 12 months prior to survey and estimated yearly exposure-intensity scores for 14 pesticide active ingredients using a semi-quantitative exposure algorithm. We administered 11 neurobehavioral tests to assess five neurobehavioral domains. We implemented a Bayesian Model-Averaging (BMA) approach to examine the association between exposure to multiple pesticides and neurobehavioral outcomes, while accounting for multiple testing. We applied two levels of inference to determine (1) which neurobehavioral outcomes were associated with overall pesticide exposure (marginal inclusion probability (MIP) for covariate-only models <0.5) and (2) which specific pesticide active ingredients were associated with these outcomes (MIP for models where active ingredient was included >0.5). RESULTS: Seventy-two percent of farmers reported use of pesticide products that contained at least one of 14 active ingredients, while the applicators used in median three different active ingredients (interquartile range (IQR) 4) in the 12 months prior to the study. The most widely used active ingredients were glyphosate (79%), cypermethrin (60%), and mancozeb (55%). We found that overall pesticide exposure was associated with impaired visual memory (Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT)), language (semantic verbal fluency test), perceptual-motor function (Finger tapping test), and complex attention problems (Trail making A test and digit symbol test). However, when we looked at the associations for individual active ingredients, we only observed a positive association between glyphosate exposure and impaired visual memory (-0.103 [95% Bayesian Credible Interval (BCI)] [-0.24, 0] units in BVRT scores per interquartile range (IQR) increase in annual exposure to glyphosate, relative to a median [IQR] of 6 [3] units in BVRT across the entire study population). CONCLUSIONS: We found that overall pesticide exposure was associated with several neurobehavioral outcome variables. However, when we examined individual pesticide active ingredients, we observed predominantly null associations, except for a positive association between glyphosate exposure and impaired visual memory. Additional epidemiologic studies are needed to evaluate glyphosate's neurotoxicity, while accounting for co-pollutant confounding.
BACKGROUND: Multiple epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to single pesticide active ingredients or chemical groups is associated with adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in farmers. In agriculture, exposure to multiple pesticide active ingredients is the rule, rather than exception. Therefore, occupational studies on neurobehavioral effects of pesticides should account for potential co-exposure confounding. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 288 Ugandan smallholder farmers between September and December 2017. We collected data on self-reported use of pesticide products during the 12 months prior to survey and estimated yearly exposure-intensity scores for 14 pesticide active ingredients using a semi-quantitative exposure algorithm. We administered 11 neurobehavioral tests to assess five neurobehavioral domains. We implemented a Bayesian Model-Averaging (BMA) approach to examine the association between exposure to multiple pesticides and neurobehavioral outcomes, while accounting for multiple testing. We applied two levels of inference to determine (1) which neurobehavioral outcomes were associated with overall pesticide exposure (marginal inclusion probability (MIP) for covariate-only models <0.5) and (2) which specific pesticide active ingredients were associated with these outcomes (MIP for models where active ingredient was included >0.5). RESULTS: Seventy-two percent of farmers reported use of pesticide products that contained at least one of 14 active ingredients, while the applicators used in median three different active ingredients (interquartile range (IQR) 4) in the 12 months prior to the study. The most widely used active ingredients were glyphosate (79%), cypermethrin (60%), and mancozeb (55%). We found that overall pesticide exposure was associated with impaired visual memory (Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT)), language (semantic verbal fluency test), perceptual-motor function (Finger tapping test), and complex attention problems (Trail making A test and digit symbol test). However, when we looked at the associations for individual active ingredients, we only observed a positive association between glyphosate exposure and impaired visual memory (-0.103 [95% Bayesian Credible Interval (BCI)] [-0.24, 0] units in BVRT scores per interquartile range (IQR) increase in annual exposure to glyphosate, relative to a median [IQR] of 6 [3] units in BVRT across the entire study population). CONCLUSIONS: We found that overall pesticide exposure was associated with several neurobehavioral outcome variables. However, when we examined individual pesticide active ingredients, we observed predominantly null associations, except for a positive association between glyphosate exposure and impaired visual memory. Additional epidemiologic studies are needed to evaluate glyphosate's neurotoxicity, while accounting for co-pollutant confounding.
Authors: Samuel Fuhrimann; Chenjie Wan; Elodie Blouzard; Adriana Veludo; Zelda Holtman; Shala Chetty-Mhlanga; Mohamed Aqiel Dalvie; Aggrey Atuhaire; Hans Kromhout; Martin Röösli; Hanna-Andrea Rother Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-27 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Andrea Farnham; Samuel Fuhrimann; Philipp Staudacher; Marcela Quirós-Lépiz; Carly Hyland; Mirko S Winkler; Ana M Mora Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-08-26 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Martin Röösli; Samuel Fuhrimann; Aggrey Atuhaire; Hanna-Andrea Rother; James Dabrowski; Brenda Eskenazi; Erik Jørs; Paul C Jepson; Leslie London; Saloshni Naidoo; Diane S Rohlman; Ivy Saunyama; Berna van Wendel de Joode; Adeoluwa O Adeleye; Oyebanji O Alagbo; Dem Aliaj; Jember Azanaw; Ravichandran Beerappa; Curdin Brugger; Sunisa Chaiklieng; Shala Chetty-Mhlanga; Grace A Chitra; Venugopal Dhananjayan; Afure Ejomah; Christian Ebere Enyoh; Yamdeu Joseph Hubert Galani; Jonathan N Hogarh; Janefrances N Ihedioha; Jeanne Priscille Ingabire; Ellinor Isgren; Yêyinou Laura Estelle Loko; Liana Maree; Nkoum Metou'ou Ernest; Haruna Musa Moda; Edward Mubiru; Mwema Felix Mwema; Immaculate Ndagire; Godwin O Olutona; Peter Otieno; Jordan M Paguirigan; Reginald Quansah; Charles Ssemugabo; Seruwo Solomon; Mosudi B Sosan; Mohammad Bashir Sulaiman; Berhan M Teklu; Isioma Tongo; Osariyekemwen Uyi; Henry Cueva-Vásquez; Adriana Veludo; Paola Viglietti; Mohamed Aqiel Dalvie Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-07-23 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Parichat Ong-Artborirak; Waraporn Boonchieng; Yuwayong Juntarawijit; Chudchawal Juntarawijit Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-08-05 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Chiara Costa; Michele Teodoro; Federica Giambò; Stefania Catania; Silvia Vivarelli; Concettina Fenga Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-08-23 Impact factor: 4.614