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Pesticides may impact development of CVD
High occupational exposure to pesticides may play a role in the development of CVD, according to findings from the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
During the 10-year follow up of Japanese American men, researchers observed a trend between age-adjusted CVD and high levels of pesticide exposure (HR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.1-1.95). These findings remained statistically significant after adjustment for other CVD risk factors (HR = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.05-1.92).
However, researchers noted that when analyzing outcomes of incident CHD and cerebrovascular accident separately, they did not find significant associations and, according to the study, attributed this to a smaller number of outcomes, which had inadequate power to observe any differences. The researchers did not provide data to back this assessment.
“Health care providers need to be aware of pesticide exposure occupational health risks, especially in the agricultural population,” Zara K. Berg, PhD, MS, of the department of complementary and integrative medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Long- and short-term chemical exposures, especially to pesticides, need to be documented in individual medical records. Farm and agricultural workers need to wear personal protective equipment and have their health monitored for cardiovascular disease outcomes.”
In other findings, researchers observed that low to moderate pesticide exposure was associated with nonsignificant trends of incident CVD when adjusted for age, BMI and systolic BP (HR = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.2-1.19).
“This could potentially be due to the hormesis principle, which argues that low-dose exposures to some toxic agents may be protective in some individuals and may stimulate homeostasis of the organism,” the researchers wrote. “It is thought that low-dose exposure at nontoxic levels causes stimulation of protective enzymes, which provide enhanced protection against occasional exposure to higher, more toxic levels.”
Using the Occupational Safety Health Administration exposure scale, researchers analyzed a cohort of 7,557 Japanese American men (with incident CVD, n = 2,549; mean age, 55 years; systolic BP, 139 mm Hg; without incident CVD, n = 5,028; mean age, 54 years; systolic BP, 131 mm Hg) who underwent high occupational exposure (6%), low to moderate exposure (1.5%) or no exposure to pesticides (93%). Using Cox proportional hazards models and the primary outcome of CVD, defined as CHD or cerebrovascular accident, researchers sought to discern the effect of pesticide exposure on the development of CVD.
“These data could be helpful in identifying groups of subjects, such as those involved in agriculture and the manufacturing of pesticides, who may be at higher risk of developing CVD,” the researchers wrote. “In addition, they highlight the importance of measures adopted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, such as protective gear to limit occupational exposure to pesticides, to reduce the increased risk of developing CVD and other diseases associated with pesticide exposure.” – by Scott Buzby
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.