जर्नल ऑफ़ क्लिनिकल टॉक्सिकोलॉजी
खुला एक्सेस

अमूर्त

Evaluation of Urinary Pesticide Biomarkers among a Sample of the Population in the United States

Alex L LeBeau, Giffe T Johnson, James D McCluskey and Raymond D Harbison

Pesticide use in the United States continues to raise controversy over potential effects on human health. This investigation examined biomarkers of exposure levels in a sample of the United States population from the 2001-2002 NHANES dataset. The detection frequency of urinary biomarkers of exposure and the geometric mean were determined from 3,152 individual samples with stratified analysis for relevant subgroups. The association between the detection of a biomarker of exposure and differences in height and weight of children aged 6-11 was analyzed. Of the 18 specific pesticide biomarkers sampled, three were detected in more than 50% of the population sample: 79% had a detectable level of 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol, a biomarker of chlorpyrifos, with a geometric mean of 2.07 μg/L (C.I: 1.98-2.17); 53% had a detectable level of paranitrophenol, a biomarker of methyl parathion, with a geometric mean of 0.367 μg/L (C.I.: 0.346-0.389); and 77% had a detectable level of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid, a biomarker of permethrin, with a geometric mean of 0.336 μg/L (C.I.: 0.320-0.352). No clear trend emerged when evaluating associations between height and biomarker detection in children, with the absence of significant results for trichloropyridinol; heavier children associated with 3-phenoxybenzoic acid at age 7 [Detect=28.61 kg and Non- Detect=25.26 kg (p=0.009)]; and paranitrophenol being associated with shorter children at age 8 [Non-Detect=134.3 cm and Detect: 130.9 cm (p=0.046)] and taller children at age 11 [Detect=153.7 cm and Non-Detect=149.9 cm (p=0.022)]. A comparative analysis with extant epidemiological and biomonitoring literature is consistent with the findings reported here and suggests that there is insufficient evidence for a relationship between background exposure levels to these common pesticides and measured developmental health effects.