Environmental pyrethroid and organophosphorus insecticide exposures and sperm concentration.

BACKGROUND There is growing concern that poisoning and other adverse health effects are increasing because organophosphorous (OP) insecticides are now being used in combination with pyrethroid (PYR) insecticides to enhance the toxic effects of PYR insecticides on target insects, especially those that have developed PYR resistance. OBJECTIVES We conducted a pilot biomonitoring study to determine whether men in our reproductive cohort study were being exposed to pesticides environmentally by virtue of frequenting an agricultural setting. METHODS We screened 18 randomly selected urine samples collected from male participants of reproductive age for 24 parent compounds and metabolites of pesticides and examined the results in relation to sperm concentration. RESULTS Results showed high prevalence of exposure to OP and PYR pesticides and our preliminary analyses provided some suggestion that the higher exposure group had lower sperm concentration. CONCLUSIONS The potential of OP/PYR mixtures to have enhanced human toxicity needs more research attention.

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