Urinary Concentrations of Insecticide and Herbicide Metabolites among Pregnant Women in Rural Ghana: A Pilot Study

Blair J. Wylie, Kenneth A. Ae-Ngibise, Ellen A. Boamah, Mohammed Mujtaba, Carmen Messerlian, Russ Hauser, Brent Coull, Antonia M. Calafat, Darby Jack, Patrick L. Kinney, Robin Whyatt, Seth Owusu-Agyei and Kwaku P. Asante
Additional contact information
Blair J. Wylie: Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Vincent Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
Kenneth A. Ae-Ngibise: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana
Ellen A. Boamah: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana
Mohammed Mujtaba: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana
Carmen Messerlian: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Russ Hauser: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Brent Coull: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Antonia M. Calafat: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
Darby Jack: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
Patrick L. Kinney: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
Robin Whyatt: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
Seth Owusu-Agyei: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana
Kwaku P. Asante: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Use of pesticides by households in rural Ghana is common for residential pest control, agricultural use, and for the reduction of vectors carrying disease. However, few data are available about exposure to pesticides among this population. Our objective was to quantify urinary concentrations of metabolites of organophosphate (OP), pyrethroid, and select herbicides during pregnancy, and to explore exposure determinants. In 2014, 17 pregnant women from rural Ghana were surveyed about household pesticide use and provided weekly first morning urine voids during three visits ( n = 51 samples). A total of 90.1% (46/51) of samples had detectable OP metabolites [geometric mean, GM (95% CI): 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol 0.54 µg/L (0.36–0.81), para-nitrophenol 0.71 µg/L (0.51–1.00)], 75.5% (37/49) had detectable pyrethroid metabolites [GM: 3-phenoxybenzoic acid 0.23 µg/L (0.17, 0.32)], and 70.5% (36/51) had detectable 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid levels, a herbicide [GM: 0.46 µg/L (0.29–0.73)]. Concentrations of para-nitrophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in Ghanaian pregnant women appear higher when compared to nonpregnant reproductive-aged women in a reference U.S. population. Larger studies are necessary to more fully explore predictors of exposure in this population.

Keywords: insecticides; herbicides; pregnancy; organophosphates; pyrethroids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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