Urinary pesticide metabolite concentrations in pregnant women from Suriname

摘要

Pesticides are widely used in Suriname, a middle-income Caribbean country. The primary agricultural area is district Nickerie. Exposure to pesticides leads to adverse health effects and pregnant women and children are vulnerable. The Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (CCREOH) assesses the impact of environmental exposures on birth outcomes and neurodevelopment in 1000 mother/child dyads. This study represents a subset of the CCREOH cohort and is aimed at comparing pesticide metabolite concentrations in pregnant women from Nickerie and the capital Paramaribo. Urine samples from 220 participants were collected. A total of 50 samples (42 from Paramaribo and 8 from Nickerie) were recently analyzed at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's environmental health laboratory for three pesticide classes, including the commonly used 2,4-D, organophosphate insecticides, and pyrethroid insecticides. Pregnant women in Nickerie had the highest geometric mean urinary metabolite concentrations of 2,4-D and pyrethroids: 3-phenoxybenzoic acid compared to those living in Paramaribo, (0.56 vs. 0.16 ug/L), (0.52 vs. 0.24 ug/L), respectively (p<0.05). Pregnant women living in Paramaribo had significantly higher geometric mean urinary metabolite concentrations of organophosphates: para-Nitrophenol, diethylthiophosphate and diethylphosphate compared to those living in Nickerie, (0.44 vs. 0.22 ug/L), (0.73 vs. 0.22 ug/L), (1.54 vs. 0.54 ug/L), respectively. The above-mentioned levels are higher in Suriname compared to those in the United States based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Urinary metabolite concentrations of pesticides varied in Paramaribo and Nickerie. This could be due to residential use, intensive spraying during mosquito control programs in Paramaribo and excessive use in Nickerie, as it is a rice production area, respectively. Analysis of an additional 170 urine samples is underway.