Gestational Hypertension and Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Hypertension is the most common medical problem encountered during pregnancy, complicating 2-3% of pregnancies. High blood pressure (BP) with diastolic BP ≥ 90 mm Hg and/or systolic BP ≥ 140 mm Hg arising after week 22 of pregnancy and resolving after delivery is defined as gestational hypertension (GHY). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether occupational and/or environmental exposure to organophosphorus (OP) pesticide affects GHY. Women at approximately 22 weeks of gestation were recruited. OP pesticide exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy was classified into four categories: no exposure, indirect exposure, domestic exposure, and occupational exposure. Application of the exclusion criteria left 2203 participants (mean age 30.4 ± 11.6 years). Data analysis showed that in women with indirect OP pesticide exposure the incidence of GHY was slightly higher than that in the world population, whereas domestic exposure involved a 7% increase and occupational exposure a 12% increase. Analysis of the pesticides used by participants highlighted a possible role for malathion and diazinon (adjusted OR 1.09 and 1.14, resp.). Further investigation of exposed workers and the general population is clearly warranted given the broad diffusion of OP pesticides and their possible public health impact, maybe by including a wider range of health outcomes.

Oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers after exposure to pesticides

“…Recent epidemiological studies on workers describe that exposure to pesticides is a risk factor for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In detail, several investigations reports that exposure to pesticides can induce oxidative stress by increased production of free radicals that can accumulate in the cell, damaging biological macromolecules, for example RNA, DNA, DNA repair proteins and other proteins [14,15], or modifying antioxidant defense mechanisms, as well as detoxification and scavenger enzymes [16,17].…”

Home proximity to flower plantations and higher systolic blood pressure among children

“…Among Sicilian women, the incidence of gestational hypertension was twice as high among women occupationally exposed to pesticides (12%) compared to those who had indirect or domestic exposures (6% and 7% respectively), and four times greater than the incidence among unexposed women (4%). (Ledda et al, 2015). Finally, a pilot study of Ecuadorian children aged 5–9 years living in the same area as our participants, reported a positive correlation between maternal work in floriculture during pregnancy and children’s SBP (Harari et al, 2010).…”

“…Among mosquito control workers in Malaysia, duration and magnitude of pesticide exposure were associated with elevated diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (Samsuddin et al, 2016). Among Sicilian women, twice the incidence rate of gestational hypertension was noted among those occupationally exposed to pesticides compared to those who had indirect exposures or were not exposed to pesticides (Ledda et al, 2015). In a study of Ecuadorian school children, maternal work in agriculture during pregnancy, but not concurrent pesticide exposure of children, was associated with elevated systolic blood pressure in children (Grandjean et al, 2006).…”

Lead exposure and plasma mRNA expression in ERBB2 gene

“…When chemical agents are concerned, primary prevention entails replacing a toxic agent with a non-toxic one. Though, certain mutagenic/carcinogenic agents can be produced in synthetic processes as intermediates or as waste products (45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54).…”