Impact of low-level exposure to organophosphates on human reproduction and survival.

Abstract

Despite their widespread and longstanding use for the public good, organophosphate (OP) pesticides have led to many adverse effects on human health. Environmental exposure to OPs and adverse reproductive outcomes in men and women working on or living near farms are increasingly reported worldwide. The aim of the current review is to determine whether exposure to OPs, at levels lower than that which results in clinical manifestations of acute OP poisoning, leads to an adverse impact on fertility, growth and development, and to highlight possible effects for further investigation. There is evidence of impaired fertility due to a reduction in semen quality and possibly lower testosterone levels in exposed males. There is also evidence of impairment of fetal growth and development brought about by prenatal exposure to OPs. Paraoxonase gene (PON1) activity in the fetus and during early childhood makes the fetus and child more vulnerable to OP poisoning, suggesting that OP exposure has a greater impact on fetal and infant growth and development than on adults when exposed to the same concentrations of pesticides. This review raises concerns that exposure to OP pesticides at levels currently regarded as safe adversely affect human reproductive function and survival.

• Authors: Roshini J Peiris-John, Rajitha Wickremasinghe
• Journal: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg) Vol. 102 Issue 3 Pg. 239-45 (Mar 2008) ISSN: 0035-9203 [Print] England
• PMID: 18242652 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Organophosphates

Topics

• Environmental Exposure (adverse effects)
• Female
• Fertility (drug effects)
• Humans
• Male
• Mortality
• Organophosphates (toxicity)
• Pregnancy
• Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects (chemically induced)
• Reproduction (drug effects)