Aims/HypothesisThis study aimed to explore whether household pesticide exposure in the general population increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and whether intake of dietary magnesium could lower type 2 diabetes from household pesticide exposure.MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, we obtained the data of 9,187 United States adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2007–2018. Participants were subdivided into two groups based on the amount of daily dietary magnesium in the population: low group: <175 mg/day and high group: ≥175 mg/day. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we evaluated the relationship between pesticide exposure in the home and type 2 diabetes.ResultsCompared to those unexposed at home, individuals who were exposed to pesticides in their households had a relatively higher odds ratio for type 2 diabetes (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.04–1.44). The association of pesticide exposure in the home with the incidence of type 2 diabetes was different for low and high dietary magnesium groups, OR = 1.66, 95% Cl: 1.19-2.33 vs. OR = 1.1, 95% Cl: 0.92–1.32, respectively. An interaction (P = 0.035) between household pesticide exposure and magnesium intake, suggested that high dietary magnesium intake may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes from pesticide exposure.ConclusionsHousehold pesticide exposure in the general population is associated with an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes. We report for the first time possible clinical relevance in that high magnesium intake may ameliorate the increased risk of type 2 diabetes from pesticide exposure.
Clinical studies on the relationship between pesticide exposure at home and infertility in the general population are scarce. Whether the antioxidant nutrients or other health-related factors affect the pesticide–infertility relationship remains unknown. This nationwide study screened 29,400 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted between 2013 and 2018. The participants were subdivided according to dietary zinc intake based on the recommended dietary allowances as the low-zinc and high-zinc groups (< 8 and ≥ 8 mg/day, respectively), and according to body mass index (BMI; cut-off 28 kg/m
2
) as the low-BMI and high-BMI groups. Participants who were exposed to pesticides at home had an increased risk of infertility (odds ratio [OR] = 1.56, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.06–2.29). The incidence of infertility differed in low-zinc and high-zinc groups (OR, 95% CI: 2.38, 1.40–4.06 vs. 0.98, 0.53–1.79, respectively), indicating an interaction between pesticide exposure and zinc intake in households (
P
= 0.047), which suggests that a zinc-rich diet may reduce the risk of pesticide-induced infertility. Similarly, the relationship between pesticide exposure and infertility risk differed in the low-BMI and high-BMI groups (OR, 95% CI: 0.90, 0.42–1.93 vs. 2.23, 1.39–3.58, respectively;
P
= 0.045), suggesting that high BMI may intensify the infertility risk caused by pesticide exposure. These new findings reveal the antagonistic and synergistic effect of zinc and obesity, respectively, in pesticide-induced infertility risk and suggest that individuals who are obese and on a low-zinc diet may be more susceptible to infertility induced by household pesticide exposure.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-23629-x.
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