The role of diet in children's exposure to organophosphate pesticides

Abstract

Background Studies suggest that some of the greatest exposure to OPs in children occurs in agricultural communities and various pathways of exposure including the take-home pathway, proximity to orchards, and diet have been explored. However, the importance of the dietary pathway of exposure for children in agricultural communities is not well understood. Objectives Our goal was to ascertain whether there were associations between measures of OP exposure and apple juice, fruit, and vegetable consumption across growing seasons by children of farmworkers and non-farmworkers in a rural agricultural setting. Methods Study participants were children of farmworker (N=100) or non-farmworker (N=100) households from a longitudinal cohort study. Dietary intake of fruits and vegetables was assessed using a “5-A-Day” abbreviated food frequency questionnaire, and exposure to OPs was characterized using three urinary di-methyl and three di-ethyl metabolite measurements per child for each of three growing seasons. We used generalized estimating equations to examine data. Results Consumption frequency of fruits and vegetables was similar between children of farmworkers and non-farmworkers and across seasons. There were a few significant trends between dimethyl metabolites (DMAP) and fruit, vegetable or apple juice consumption; however, no clear pattern held across seasons or occupation. One difference was found in vegetable consumption during the harvest season, where the farmworker families showed a significant relationship between vegetable consumption and dimethyl metabolite levels (p=0.002). We also found a significant difference in this relationship between farmworkers and non-farmworkers (p=0.001). No significant trends between fruit and vegetable consumption and diethyl (DEAP) metabolites were found. Conclusions Our study shows the importance of considering season and parents' occupation in understanding OP exposure routes among children in an agricultural community. The impact of these factors on dietary OP exposure requires a more thorough analysis of the availability and consumption of produce from different sources including farms using pesticides where parents worked.

Pesticide Urinary Metabolites Among Latina Farmworkers and Nonfarmworkers in North Carolina

“…45–47 Assessments of pesticide exposure in non-agricultural US populations have focused on specific issues, such as prenatal and early life exposure and child development, 31,36,42,44 and reproductive health. 48–51 Pesticide exposure pathways in non-agricultural communities include pesticide residues on food, 52,53 environmental exposures due to residential pesticide application, 54 and non-agricultural occupational exposures. 55…”

Organophosphate Pesticide Urinary Metabolites Among Latino Immigrants

“…Although most OP pesticides were withdrawn from residential use in the US in the early 2000s, data from the 2007–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicate that exposure remains common. 34,35 OP exposure pathways in the non-agricultural US population include OP pesticide residues on food, 36,37 environmental exposures to remaining residues from residential pesticide application, 38 and non-agricultural occupational exposures. 39 Assessments of OP pesticide exposure in non-agricultural US populations have focused on vulnerable communities, and have been largely limited to analyses of prenatal and early life OP exposure and child development.…”

Application of improved approach to evaluate a community intervention to reduce exposure of young children living in farmworker households to organophosphate pesticides

“…Our Community-Based Participatory Research Project (CBPR) has characterized the seasonal variability in dust and urinary biomarkers for pesticide metabolites [ 7 , 9 ]. We have also characterized dietary exposure to pesticides in this community, and while we were able to detect differences in exposure due to diet, household occupational status (if there is at least one farmworker in the household) was still the largest contributor to pesticide exposure [ 10 ]. These studies have pinpointed the seasons during which the occupational take-home pathway for pesticide exposure may be highest in families living in Yakima Valley, Washington.…”