OP V – 5 The exposure to organophosphate pesticides among pregnant women in jerusalem – the environment, mother, and child study

Abstract

Background/aimOrganophosphate Pesticides (OP) aim to target the nervous system. Associations between maternal urinary levels of dialkyl metabolites of OP (DAP) and adverse outcomes in neonates and children were reported. Between 2012 and 2014, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture restricted or banned eighteen active ingredients. We studied trends in OP exposure among pregnant women in the era of new regulation.MethodsAn ongoing cohort study of pregnant women recruited at 11–18 weeks of gestation, who were interviewed and gave a urine sample upon recruitment. Soon after birth, data collection included maternal interview and neonatal examination and urine sample collection. Urine specimens of 273 mothers and 107 offspring were sent for DAPs analysis in the Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of the University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. Trends in DAP metabolites were tested using spearman correlation and linear regression models to estimate the association between time in months and DAP level over the period between September 2012 and March 2016.ResultsOver the study period, the median maternal DAP level decreased from 250 nmol/L to 148 nmol/L. Time of recruitment was inversely significantly correlated with total DAPs metabolites(r=-0.237, p<0.0001) and remained significant in linear regression model after controlling for maternal fruit consumption(β=-21, p<0.05). Similar trend was found for DAP metabolites in neonatal urine. The median total DAP exposure decreased from 49 nmol/L to 21 nmol/L and was inversely significantly correlated with birth month(r=-0.326, p<0.001). In linear regression model adjusting for urinary creatinine and birthweight, neonatal DAP levels decreased significantly over time (β=-5, p<0.05). Compared to other studies, pregnant women in Jerusalem had higher OP exposure, even at the end of the study period.ConclusionWe observed a reduction in maternal and neonatal DAP urinary level during the period of 2012–2016. Regulations restricting the use of OP in agriculture are probably responsible and seem to be effective in reducing the exposure of the population to OP. Yet, exposure levels are still higher than the reported levels in other Western countries.