Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 16;18(22):12005.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182212005.

Environmental Pyrethroid Exposure and Cognitive Dysfunction in U.S. Older Adults: The NHANES 2001-2002

Ui-Jin Kim  1 , Myeongjin Hong  2 , Yoon-Hyeong Choi  2   3
Affiliations

Environmental Pyrethroid Exposure and Cognitive Dysfunction in U.S. Older Adults: The NHANES 2001-2002

Ui-Jin Kim et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Pyrethroid compounds are widely used in household insecticides and agricultural pesticides. Recent studies, however, report that pyrethroid exposures affect neurobehavioral function in animals and may be associated with adverse neurocognitive development in children. This study aimed to examine the association between pyrethroid exposure and cognitive dysfunction in older adults using a well-defined general population. We analyzed data from 336 individuals, aged 60-84 years, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2002. We used urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) concentration as a biomarker of pyrethroid exposures and assessed cognitive function with the digit-symbol coding test. The geometric means (±geometric standard errors) of creatinine-uncorrected and corrected urinary 3-PBA were 0.30 (±0.87) μg/L and 0.36 (±0.89) μg/g. After adjusting for sociodemographic factors, higher 3-PBA concentrations (> vs. ≤0.30 μg/g creatinine (median)) were associated with lower scores of cognitive function (-3.83 95% confidence interval: -7.11, -0.54). Significance was persistent after additionally adjusting for physical activity and smoking pack-year (-3.76 95% CI: -7.16, -0.36) and further adjusting for BMI and presence of hypertension and diabetes (-3.82 95% CI: -6.92, -0.71). Our findings suggest that pyrethroid exposure is associated with cognitive dysfunction in older adults.

Keywords: NHANES; cognition; older adults; pesticide; pyrethroid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Metcalf R.L. Insect control. In: Fritz U., editor. Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Wiley-VCH; Weinheim, Germany: 2000. pp. 264–325.
    1. Soderlund D.M., Clark J.M., Sheets L.P., Mullin L.S., Piccirillo V.J., Sargent D., Stevens J.T., Weiner M.L. Mechanisms of pyrethroid neurotoxicity: Im-plications for cumulative risk assessment. Toxicology. 2002;171:3–59. doi: 10.1016/S0300-483X(01)00569-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leng G., Kühn K.-H., Idel H. Biological monitoring of pyrethroids in blood and pyrethroid metabolites in urine: Applications and limitations. Sci. Total Environ. 1997;199:173–181. doi: 10.1016/S0048-9697(97)05493-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Casida J.E. Pyrethrum flowers and pyrethroid insecticides. Environ. Health Perspect. 1980;34:189. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8034189. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wolansky M., Harrill J. Neurobehavioral toxicology of pyrethroid insecticides in adult animals: A critical review. Neurotoxicol. Teratol. 2008;30:55–78. doi: 10.1016/j.ntt.2007.10.005. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types