Dataset Information

Cancer and occupational exposure to pesticides: an umbrella review.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The aim was to identify the scope of the epidemiology literature reviewed regarding the risk of cancer as related to occupational exposure to pesticides and to compare regulatory toxicity results where feasible.

Methods

Review studies of breast, lung, prostate, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and colorectal cancer were identified from the published literature from 2010 to 2020 using a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria. Epidemiology observations were first assessed and then compared against carcinogenicity profiles derived from regulatory toxicology studies.

Results

Several active ingredients were associated with specific cancer but overall, there was neither strong nor consistent epidemiologic data supportive of a positive association between pesticide exposure in occupational settings and cancer. Authors noted common themes related to the heterogeneity of exposure, study design, control for confounders, and the challenge to collect these data reliably and validly with an adequate sample size. Toxicology studies in laboratory animals that assessed carcinogenic potential did not reveal cancer outcomes that were concordant with reported epidemiologic findings.

Conclusions

Farming and pesticides represent diverse exposures that are difficult to quantify in epidemiologic studies. Going forward, investigators will need creative and novel approaches for exposure assessment. Integration of epidemiologic and toxicological studies with attention to biological plausibility, mode of toxicological action and relevance to humans will increase the ability to better assess associations between pesticides and cancer.

SUBMITTER: Burns CJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8238729 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the published literature and to estimate whether or not there is a causal relationship between occupational exposure to organophosphate pesticides (OPs) and either neurological impairment or depressive symptoms.Data sourcesEMBASE, MEDLINE, Global Health and PsycINFO (1980 to April 2014).SettingObservational studies (cross-sectional, cohort and case-control studies) with exposed and unexposed groups.ParticipantsPeople who occupationally use OPs for more than 1?month and their family.Primary outcomeResults of neurological core test batteries or depressive symptoms such as headaches, anxiety and dizziness.Study appraisal and synthesis methodsAfter an extensive search of various literature databases, one author screened titles and abstracts, searched the relevant publications manually and conducted data extraction. All extracted data from the selected articles were synthesised for analysis. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale.ResultsOf the 1024 articles retrieved by database search, 24 studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected for analysis. Of the selected studies, 17 were cross-sectional and the remaining 7 were cohort and nested case-control studies. The geographical areas included in the studies were the USA (10 studies), the UK (4 studies), Africa (4 studies), Asia (3 studies), Europe (2 studies) and South America (1 study). Each of the included studies used different exposure and outcome assessments such as neurological scores and depressive symptoms, making it difficult to compare the results exactly. Most studies showed that exposed groups had poorer results than unexposed groups; however, owing to the inconsistent neurological test batteries, there was not enough pooling evidence to conduct a meta-analysis.ConclusionsThe findings of this literature review indicate that it is necessary to standardise the neurological or neuropsychological test battery and methods of measuring exposure to OPs.