Pesticides linked to vitamin D deficiency

Pesticides linked to vitamin D deficiency



Pesticides could be suppressing people’s vitamin D levels, leading to deficiency and disease, say scientists. The warning follows the discovery that adults with high serum concentrations of organochlorine pesticides such as DDT have lower vitamin D levels.

Exposure to lose doses of organochlorine pesticides has been previously linked to common diseases like type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D deficiency has similarly been associated with a rise in chronic diseases, but the two have been studied separately by researchers in different fields. ’The known associations between vitamin D deficiency and various diseases can be at least partly be explained by the common exposure to organochlorine pesticides,’ says senior author Duk-Hee Lee of Kyungpook National University in Korea.
The US-Korean research team studied 1275 adults in the US aged 20 years or older and checked their blood for seven organochlorine pesticides. DDT and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane levels in study volunteers showed significant associations with lower serum concentrations of a vitamin D pre-hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the standard way to assess vitamin D levels in the body. The study sheds no light on how pesticides might influence vitamin D levels, though. 
Organochlorine pesticides were banned in the US decades ago, but are still detectable in people because they resist biodegradation in the environment, are lipophilic and accumulate in fat tissues. The World Health Organization still recommends the use of DDT to control mosquitoes in malarial regions and, while there is a global moratorium on spraying it on crops, illegal use in some countries is suspected.
Levels of these chemicals are far lower than they were in the 1960s and 1970s, but Lee believes that they may still be significant because they act as endocrine disruptors. ’One characteristic of endocrine disruptors is that they show their possible harmful effects at levels lower than those which we currently think are safe,’ Lee says. ’As chemicals like organochlorine pesticides travel a long distance through a variety of ways, humans can be exposed to these kinds of chemicals even though the country where they live does not use them anymore.’
’We have known for many years that DDT causes egg shell thinning,’ says David Carpenter, director of the institute for health and environment at the University of Albany, New York.  ’Since egg shell thickness is regulated by vitamin D, this study shows that the same suppression of vitamin D occurs in humans.’ Carpenter says he is concerned about the push to bring DDT back into use as a potent pesticide against mosquitoes and other insects. ’It is very important to communicate how harmful DDT is to humans, not just mosquitoes.’Pesticides linked to vitamin D deficiency
Anthony King

References

J-H Yang et alPLoS One, 2012, 7, e30093 (DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0030093) 

Pesticides Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency

Pesticides Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency

 

 from Beyond Pesticides Daily Blog

“We have known for many years that DDT causes egg shell thinning,” says David Carpenter, PhD, director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University of Albany, New York. “Since egg shell thickness is regulated by vitamin D, this study shows that the same suppression of vitamin D occurs in humans.”

Most organochlorine pesticides were banned in the U.S. decades ago, but are still detectable in people because they resist biodegradation in the environment, are lipophilic and accumulate in fat tissues. However, organochlorine uses do continue in the U.S., although EPA has proclaimed that they represent unreasonable risks. Under an agreement EPA negotiated in July 2010, most currently approved endosulfan crop uses will end in 2012, including over 30 crop uses plus use on ornamental trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. About 12 other crop uses will end over the following four years. Of these 12, the last four endosulfan uses will end on July 31, 2016. See details on EPA’s phase-out agreement. Under a separate agreement signed last year, dicofol, an organochlorine miticide/pesticide, may continue to be used through 2016 for foliar applications on cotton, apples, citrus, strawberries, mint, beans, peppers, tomatoes, pecans, walnuts, stonefruit, cucurbits, and non-residential lawns/ornamentals. According to EPA, “Trace amounts of DDT (<0.1%) have been measured in dicofol products given its use in the manufacture of dicofol..." Lindane shampoos for lice and lotion for scabies is still permitted by the Food ad Drug Administration as prescription only products. The wood preservative, pentachlorophenol, is still allowed by EPA to be used on treated telephone poles that line streets and backyards across the country.

Organochlorines have been linked to a number of adverse effects to human health, including birth defects and diabetes. One study found a correlation between organochlorine metabolites in fatty tissue and an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The most infamous member of this class of pesticides if DDT. A long line of recent studies associated with the negative health effects of DDT include breast cancer and autism. Despite the fact that DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, concentrations of this toxic chemical’s major metabolite, DDE, have remained alarmingly high in many ecosystems, including surface waters, the arctic, and even U.S. national parks.

Studies like these illustrate how the health impacts of pesticides can be often subtle and delayed, and pesticides once considered to pose “acceptable” risks are continuing to affect public health. In response to the growing evidence linking pesticide exposures to numerous human health effects, Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database captures the range of diseases linked to pesticides through epidemiologic studies. The database, which currently contains hundreds of entries of epidemiologic and laboratory exposure studies, is continually updated to track the emerging findings and trends.

Their Pesticide Disease Database (above link) includes

Alzheimer's Disease, Asthma, Birth Defects, Body Burden, Diabetes, Endocrine Disruption, Learning/Developmental, Parkinson's Disease, Reproductive Health, Bladder Cancer ? Bone Cancer ? Brain Cancer ? Cervical Cancer ? Colorecatal Cancer ? Eye Cancer ? Gallbladder Cancer ? Kidney/Renal Cancer ? Larynx Cancer ? Leukemia ? Lip Cancer ? Liver/Hepatic Cancer ? Lung Cancer ? Lymphoma ? Melanoma ? Mouth Cancer ? Multiple Myeloma ? Neuroblastoma ? Oesophageal Cancer ? Ovarian Cancer ? Pancreatic Cancer ? Prostate Cancer ? Soft Tissue Sarcoma ? Stomach Cancer ? Sinonasal Cancer ? Testicular Cancer ? Thyroid Cancer ? Uteran Cancer

Pesticides Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency

Pesticides Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency

 

(Beyond Pesticides, February 1, 2012) Pesticides could be suppressing vitamin D levels in people, leading to deficiency and disease, say scientists. This comes from a new study which discovered that adults with high serum concentrations of organochlorine pesticides, such as DDT, have lower vitamin D levels, further proving that these chemicals have a long-lasting impact on human health. While not widely appreciated, some organochlorine pesticides continue to be used in the U.S., resulting in exposure through our diet, environment, and prescription drugs, while most organochlorine pesticides have been banned in the U.S. and much of the world.
Exposure to low doses of organochlorine pesticides has been previously linked to common diseases like type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D deficiency has similarly been associated with a rise in chronic diseases, but the two have been studied separately by researchers in different fields. The study, “Associations between Organochlorine Pesticides and Vitamin D Deficiency in the U.S. Population,” compared serum concentrations of organochlorine (OC) pesticides with serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), a vitamin D pre-hormone, which is used to assess vitamin D levels in the body. It concludes that background exposure to some OC pesticides can lead to vitamin D deficiency in humans.
The U.S.-Korean research team studied 1275 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(NHANES), 2003—2004, aged 20 years or older, and checked their blood for several organochlorine pesticides. Cross-sectional associations of serum OC pesticides with serum 25(OH)D were examined. DDT and beta-hexachlorocyclohexane levels in the study volunteers showed significant associations with lower serum concentrations of the vitamin D pre-hormone, 25(OH)D. Stronger associations tended to be observed among subjects with old age, white race, or chronic diseases.
“We have known for many years that DDT causes egg shell thinning,” says David Carpenter, PhD, director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University of Albany, New York. “Since egg shell thickness is regulated by vitamin D, this study shows that the same suppression of vitamin D occurs in humans.”
Most organochlorine pesticides were banned in the U.S. decades ago, but are still detectable in people because they resist biodegradation in the environment, are lipophilic and accumulate in fat tissues, and are transported globally in the air. However, organochlorine uses do continue in the U.S., although EPA has proclaimed that they represent unreasonable risks. Under an agreement EPA negotiated in July 2010, most currently approved endosulfan crop uses will end in 2012, including over 30 crop uses plus use on ornamental trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. About 12 other crop uses will end over the following four years. Of these 12, the last four endosulfan uses will end on July 31, 2016. See details on EPA’s phase-out agreement. Under a separate agreement signed last year, dicofol, an organochlorine miticide/pesticide, may continue to be used through 2016 for foliar applications on cotton, apples, citrus, strawberries, mint, beans, peppers, tomatoes, pecans, walnuts, stonefruit, cucurbits, and non-residential lawns/ornamentals. According to EPA, “[T]race amounts of DDT (<0.1%) have been measured in dicofol products given its use in the manufacture of dicofol..." Lindane shampoos for lice and lotion for scabies is still permitted by the Food ad Drug Administration as prescription only products. The wood preservative, pentachlorophenol, is still allowed by EPA to be used on treated telephone poles that line streets and backyards across the country. Organochlorines have been linked to a number of adverse effects to human health, including birth defects and diabetes. One study found a correlation between organochlorine metabolites in fatty tissue and an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The most infamous member of this class of pesticides if DDT. A long line of recent studies associated with the negative health effects of DDT include breast cancer and autism. Despite the fact that DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, concentrations of this toxic chemical’s major metabolite, DDE, have remained alarmingly high in many ecosystems, including surface waters, the arctic, and even U.S. national parks.
Studies like these illustrate how the health impacts of pesticides can be often subtle and delayed, and pesticides once considered to pose “acceptable” risks are continuing to affect public health. In response to the growing evidence linking pesticide exposures to numerous human health effects, Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database captures the range of diseases linked to pesticides through epidemiologic studies. The database, which currently contains hundreds of entries of epidemiologic and laboratory exposure studies, is continually updated to track the emerging findings and trends.Pesticides Linked to Vitamin D DeficiencySource: Chemistry World