Association of Lifetime Exposure to Glyphosate and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid (AMPA) with Liver Inflammation and Metabolic Syndrome at Young Adulthood: Findings from the CHAMACOS Study

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of liver disorders and metabolic syndrome has increased among youth. Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide worldwide, could contribute to the development of these conditions. Objective: We aimed to assess whether lifetime exposure to glyphosate and its degradation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), is associated with elevated liver transaminases and metabolic syndrome among young adults. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study ( mother–child dyads) and a nested case–control study ( cases with elevated liver transaminases and 91 controls) using data from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). We measured glyphosate and AMPA concentrations in urine samples collected during pregnancy and at child ages 5, 14, and 18 y from cases and controls. We calculated glyphosate residue concentrations: [ ]. We estimated the amount of agricultural-use glyphosate applied within a radius of every residence from pregnancy to age 5 y for the full cohort using California Pesticide Use Reporting data. We assessed liver transaminases and metabolic syndrome at 18 y of age. Results: Urinary AMPA at age 5 y was associated with elevated transaminases [relative risk (RR) per , 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.53] and metabolic syndrome ( , 95% CI: 1.38, 3.11). Urinary AMPA and glyphosate residues at age 14 y were associated with metabolic syndrome [ (95% CI: 1.10, 2.93) and (95% CI: 1.03, 3.42), respectively]. Overall, a 2-fold increase in urinary AMPA during childhood was associated with a 14% and a 55% increased risk of elevated liver transaminases and metabolic syndrome, respectively. Living near agricultural glyphosate applications during early childhood (birth to 5 y of age) was also associated with metabolic syndrome at age 18 y in the case–control group ( , 95% CI: 1.16, 2.02). Discussion: Childhood exposure to glyphosate and AMPA may increase risk of liver and cardiometabolic disorders in early adulthood, which could lead to more serious diseases later in life. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11721

A Thorny Problem: Glyphosate and 2,4-D Associated with Neurobehavioral Effects for Ecuadorian Adolescents

“… 9 “Chronic inflammation … can interfere with neuronal and glial well-being, leading to dysregulation of brain homeostasis and compromising cognition,” he says. More work is needed to understand the long-term consequences of glyphosate exposure, and this current work joins another recent study 4 showing that exposures early in life happen, and they are associated with harmful health outcomes.…”

“… The flower-growing industry employs about one-fifth of all adults left, in Pedro Moncayo County, right, and sprays more than 70 fungicides and pesticides according to the authors. The ESPINA study 4 is investigating secondary exposures of the county’s children and adolescents. Images: © GDA/AP Images, left, and Courtesy of Natura Films (Quito, Ecuador), right.…”

Aminomethylphosphonic Acid (AMPA), a Glyphosate Metabolite, Decreases Plasma Cholinesterase Activity in Rats

“…Interestingly, when deposited in soil, glyphosate can be degraded mainly into aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), mostly by microbial action, increasing its half-life up to 958 days, while that of glyphosate is only up to 280 days [ 11 ]. Moreover, AMPA has been detected in (i) the blood of patients after accidental ingestion of GBHs [ 12 ]; (ii) urine samples from Mexican farm workers [ 13 ] and Californian residents living near glyphosate-application zones, with the latter associated with liver and cardiometabolic disorders in childhood [ 14 ]; and (iii) brains of mice receiving pure glyphosate by the oral route [ 15 ]. With these lines of evidence and the idea that AMPA can be produced by humans or rodents via intestinal microbiomes [ 16 ], it is striking to note that most of the biological effects of AMPA remain essentially unknown.…”

Glyphosate exposure, muscular health and functional limitations in middle-aged and older adults.

“…Initially considered harmless to humans, recent studies have revealed that glyphosate exposure is associated with a broad spectrum of health-related outcomes in both non-occupationally (Geier and Geier, 2023;Eskenazi et al, 2023;Hsiao et al, 2023;Qi et al, 2023a;Yang et al, 2023) and occupationally (Zhang et al, 2023;Chang et al, 2023) exposed populations. Given that some of these outcomes [i.e., endocrine-disruption (Lesseur et al, 2021;Geier and Geier, 2023), insulin-resistance (Eskenazi et al, 2023;Qi et al, 2023b), bone mineral health (Wang et al, 2023), or neuroaxonal damage (Yang et al, 2023)] are intimately related to biological systems that influence muscle health, we hypothesized that glyphosate exposure could be a risk factor for impaired muscle strength and physical function limitations in the general population. Our hypothesis is supported by experimental evidence indicating that glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) exposure during development causes muscle fibrosis and decreases levels of neuromuscular junctions in the soleus muscle of mouse pups (Barbosa et al, 2022).…”