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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Association of Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and a Marker of Asthma Morbidity in an Agricultural Community.

Authors: Benka-Coker, Wande; Loftus, Christine; Karr, Catherine; Magzamen, Sheryl

Published In J Agromedicine, (2020 01)

Abstract: Objectives: We explored the short-term impact of pesticide exposure on asthma exacerbation among children with asthma in an agricultural community.Methods: We obtained repeated urine samples from a subset of 16 school-age children with asthma (n = 139 samples) as part of the Aggravating Factors of Asthma in a Rural Environment (AFARE) study cohort. Biomarkers of organophosphate (OP) pesticide exposure (dialkylphosphates (DAPs)), and asthma exacerbation (leukotriene E4 (uLTE4)) were assessed in urine samples. We used generalized estimating equations to examine the association of summed measures of creatinine-adjusted DAPs (total dimethyl alkylphosphate (EDM), total diethyl alkylphosphate (EDE), and total dialkylphosphate pesticides (EDAP)) and uLTE4 concentration, adjusting for multiple confounders, yielding beta-coefficients with 95% CIs.Results: A total of 139 observations were obtained from the 16 children over the study period, the total number of samples per subject ranged from 1 to 12 (median: 10.5). The geometric mean (GM) of creatinine-adjusted EDE, EDM, and EDAP in this population were 81.0, 71.8 and 168.0 nmol/g, respectively. Increase in uLTE4 levels was consistently associated with increased exposures to DAPs (interquartile range in μg/g): βEDE: 8.7 (95%CI: 2.8, 14.6); βEDM: 1.1 (0.5, 1.7); βEDAP: 4.1 (0.7, 7.5).Conclusion: This study suggests that short-term OP exposure is associated with a higher risk of asthma morbidity, as indicated by increased uLTE4 levels in this cohort of children with asthma in an agricultural community. Additional studies are required to confirm these adverse effects, and explore the mechanisms underlying this relationship.

PubMed ID: 31130077 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adolescent; Agriculture; Asthma/metabolism; Asthma/urine*; Biomarkers; Child; Cohort Studies; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects; Female; Humans; Leukotriene E4/urine*; Male; Organophosphorus Compounds/urine*; Pesticides/urine; Rural Population; Washington

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