Exposure of pregnant women and their children to pyrethroid insecticides in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Front Public Health. 2023 Dec 14:11:1274724. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1274724. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: Pyrethroids are commonly used insecticides in Brazil. Gestational and early childhood exposure to pyrethroids has been linked to adverse health effects, including neurodevelopmental delays, behavioral issues, and endocrine disruption. This study evaluated the exposure of pregnant women and their children to pyrethroid insecticides in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: Creatinine-adjusted levels of the pyrethroid metabolites 3-phenoxy benzoic acid (3-PBA) and 4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzyl acid (4-FPBA) were measured in the urine of 142 pregnant women and their children at birth and in the first, third, and 6th months of life.

Results: The geometric mean (GM) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of 3-PBA and 4-FPBA urinary concentrations in pregnant women were 0.50 (0.37-0.67) and 0.37 (0.05-2.90) ng/mg, detected in 47.2 and 10.6%, respectively. Urinary concentrations of 3-PBA in the children were 0.18 (0.15-0.23) ng/mg at birth, 0.36 (0.08-1.56) ng/mg at 1-month-old, 0.68 (0.36-1.27) ng/mg at 3-month-old, and 1.36 (0.77-2.42) ng/mg at 6-month-old, and the detection rates were respectively 10.8, 9.4, 20.9, and 20.7%.

Discussion: This study is one of the few that has evaluated the urinary concentrations of pyrethroids in newborns and children in their 1st year of life. The results of this study show that children's exposure to pyrethroids significantly increases after birth.

Keywords: Brazil; Rio de Janeiro; children; pregnant women; pyrethroids.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brazil
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Insecticides* / urine
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnant Women
  • Pyrethrins* / urine

Substances

  • Insecticides
  • 3-phenoxybenzoic acid
  • Pyrethrins

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Health Surveillance Health Secretary (Grant No. 733663/19-002), Science and Technology Department (Grant No. 404168/2019-1), as well as by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development - CNPq (Grants Nos. 409275/2018-2, 303757/2021-3, 402815/2022-0, and 350107/2022-0), and the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Supporting Research in the State of Rio de Janeiro - FAPERJ (Grant No. E-26/201.225/2022).