Population-Based Biomonitoring of Exposure to Organophosphate and Pyrethroid Pesticides in New York City

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Wendy McKelvey, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; J. Bryan Jacobson, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Daniel Kass, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Dana Boyd Barr, Emory University; Mark Davis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Antonia M. Calafat, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Kenneth M. Aldous, New York State Department of Health
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-11-01
• Publisher: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1206015
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Environmental Health Perspectives
• ISSN: 0091-6765
• Volume: 121
• Issue: 11-12
• Start Page: 1349
• End Page: 1356
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by grants from the National Center for Environmental Health, CDC (grants U50CCJU222455 and U50CCU223290 to the NYC DOHMH; grants U59EH223392-05 and U38EH000464-01 to the Wadsworth Center).
• Keywords: US POPULATION; METABOLITES; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; INSECTICIDES; Toxicology; HEALTH; Environmental Sciences; CHILDREN; QUALITY-CONTROL; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; URINE SPECIMENS; Science & Technology; URBAN; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
• Research Categories: Environmental Sciences; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Background: Organophosphates and pyrethroids are the most common classes of insecticides used in the United States. Widespread use of these compounds to control building infestations in New York City (NYC) may have caused higher exposure than in less-urban settings. Objectives: The objectives of our study were to estimate pesticide exposure reference values for NYC and identify demographic and behavioral characteristics that predict exposures. Methods: The NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was a population-based, crosssectional study conducted in 2004 among adults ≥ 20 years of age. It measured urinary concentrations of organophosphate metabolites [dimethylphosphate (DMP), dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP), dimethyldithiophosphate, diethylphosphate, diethylthiophosphate, and diethyldithiophosphate] in 883 participants, and pyrethroid metabolites [3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (trans-DCCA), 4-fluoro- 3-phenoxybenzoic acid, and cis-3-(2,2-dibromovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid] in 1,452 participants. We used multivariable linear regression to estimate least-squares geometric mean total dialkylphospate (ΣDAP) and 3-PBA concentrations across categories of predictors. Results: The dimethyl organophosphate metabolites had the highest 95th percentile concentrations (87.4 μg/L and 74.7 μg/L for DMP and DMTP, respectively). The highest 95th percentiles among pyrethroid metabolites were measured for 3-PBA and trans-DCCA (5.23 μg/L and 5.94 μg/L, respectively). Concentrations of ΣDAP increased with increasing age, non-Hispanic white or black compared with Hispanic race/ethnicity, professional pesticide use, and increasing frequency of fruit consumption; they decreased with non-green vegetable consumption. Absolute differences in geometric mean urinary 3-PBA concentrations across categories of predictors were too small to be meaningful. Conclusion: Estimates of exposure to pyrethroids and dimethyl organophosphates were higher in NYC than in the United States overall, underscoring the importance of considering pest and pesticide burdens in cities when formulating pesticide use regulations.