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Pesticide exposure may increase CVD risk in premenopausal women
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Premenopausal women may have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and inflammation not only from obesity, but also from pesticide exposure, according to recent study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
According to the Endocrine Society and IPEN, DDT was one of the first recognized endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The compound and related pesticides, known as environmental estrogens, can mimic and interfere with estrogen functioning.
“After the body breaks down DDT along with similar pesticides, chemical remnants called metabolites accumulate in women’s fat tissue,” Diana Teixeira, a PhD student at the University of Porto in Portugal, said in a press release. “When higher amounts of these environmental estrogens collect in the fat tissue, it can compromise the protective effect the body’s natural estrogen has on a premenopausal women’s heart health. This leaves women at increased risk of developing [CVD] and inflammation.”
Diana Teixeira
Teixeira and colleagues evaluated 121 women with obesity (73 premenopausal; 48 postmenopausal) who underwent bariatric surgery at S. João Hospital in Portugal to determine the levels of xenoestrogens in plasma and adipose tissue and their effect on CVD risk.
Total xenoestrogen concentrations in visceral adipose tissue were significantly and positively associated with HbA1c and the count of plasma monocytes, and they were inversely correlated with plasma interleukin-10 in premenopausal participants. A negative correlation was found between xenoestrogens and homeostasis model assessment for beta-cell function (HOMA-2B), and there was a positive association with age, visceral adipose tissue adipocyte area, plasma IL-10, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP1) and 10-year CVD risk.
A positive association was identified between visceral adipose tissue xenoestrogens and age, and a negative association between plasma xenoestrogens and the IL-6 and IL-10 ratio in postmenopausal participants.
There was a positive association with xenoestrogen plasma levels and 10-year CVD risk in premenopausal participants.
“Our findings show that endocrine-disrupting chemicals tend to aggravate complications of obesity, including inflammation and [CVD] risk, in premenopausal women,” Teixeira said. “Measuring environmental estrogen levels may help physicians identify women who are at risk of developing [CV] and metabolic disease so they can take preventive action.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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