Pesticides and the risk of thyroid cancer, 50 years after restricted organochlorine pesticide use
Year: 2021
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIM: The incidence rate of thyroid cancer has increased significantly in recent decades in the United States (US) and worldwide. Exposure to endocrine disruptive chemicals, including pesticides, has been suggested to potentially contribute to this increase. Although many organochlorine pesticides have been restricted or banned in the US since the 1970s, these pesticides are stable and lipophilic, allowing them to remain in tissues for years potentially exerting carcinogenic effects. The objective of present study was therefore to assess time trends of thyroid cancer incidence and pesticide use in the US from 1975 to 2017. METHODS: Using data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER), trends of pesticides use between years 1975-2008 and incidence of thyroid cancer between years 1975-2017 in the US were assessed. The Mann-Kendall test was used to assess whether there was a significant, monotonic up- or downward trend, expressed as Kendall’s Tau b correlation coefficient. RESULTS:There was a significant increased thyroid cancer incidence rate from 4.85 cases per 100,000 per year in 1975, to 13.68 cases per 100,000 per year in 2017 (correlation coefficient: 0.873; p= 0.001). Pesticide use increased significantly from 448.9 million pounds in year 1975 to 631.9 million pounds in year 1981 (correlation coefficient: 0.809; p= 0.016). After 1981, pesticide use decreased to 516.1 million pounds in 2008, however this was a non-significant decrease (correlation coefficient: -0.207; p= 0.128). CONCLUSIONS:The simultaneous increase in pesticide use and thyroid cancer incidence rate suggests a potential negative health effect of pesticide exposure, although longitudinal studies are needed to investigate causality. Surveillance of the general population is needed to explore the impact of pesticide exposure in the US as no significant decrease in pesticide use is seen to date. KEYWORDS: Pesticides, cancer and cancer precursors
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Authors: Mathilda Alsen, Eric Genden, Maaike Van Gerwen
Institution: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3193335513