Exposure level of neonicotinoid pesticides and their metabolites in pregnant women in the suburb of Shanghai / 中华预防医学杂志

In 2021, a total of 151 pregnant women were selected from the suburb of Shanghai. A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain data about maternal age, gestational week, total annual household income, education level and passive smoking among pregnant women and one spot urine was collected. The concentrations of eight neonicotinoid pesticides and four metabolites in urine were measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The differences in detection frequencies and concentrations of neonicotinoid pesticides and their metabolites among pregnant women with different characteristics were compared, and the influencing factors of the detection of neonicotinoid pesticides in urine were analyzed. The results showed that at least one neonicotinoid pesticide was detected in 93.4% (141 samples) of urine samples. The detection frequencies of N-desmethyl-acetamiprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and N-desmethyl-clothianidin were high, about 78.1% (118 samples), 75.5% (114 samples), 68.9% (104 samples), and 44.4% (67 samples), respectively. The median concentration of the sum of all neonicotinoid pesticides was 2.66 μg/g. N-desmethyl-acetamiprid had the highest detection concentration with a median concentration of 1.04 μg/g. A lower urinary detection frequency of imidacloprid and its metabolites was seen in pregnant women aged 30-44 years [OR (95%CI): 0.23 (0.07-0.77)]. A higher detection frequency of clothianidin and its metabolites was seen in pregnant women with per capita annual household income≥100 000 yuan [OR (95%CI): 6.15 (1.56-24.28)]. There was widespread exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides and their metabolites in pregnant women from the suburb of Shanghai, which might pose potential health risks to pregnant women, and maternal age and household income were potential influencing factors of the exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides.

Pollution， human exposure and harmful effects of neonicotinoid pesticides / 上海预防医学

Neonicotinoid is a kind of neuroactive pesticide， and it has become the most widely used pesticide in the world. In recent years， neonicotinoid has been detected in the environment and food， suggesting that human can be exposed to this kind of pesticide through drinking water， ingestion and respiration， which poses potential health hazards to human. However， there is no comprehensive report on the pollution level of neonicotinoid pesticides in the environment and food and the impact on human health. In this paper， the pollution status， population exposure level and potential health risks of neonicotinoid pesticides in water， air and food were reviewed. We found that neonicotinoid residues are widespread in fruits and vegetables， of which imidacloprid has the highest detection rate. Except for a few samples with excessive neonicotinoid detection， the detection level in most samples did not exceed national food safety standards. A variety of neonicotinoid pesticides have been detected in the air， surface water， tap water and drinking water. External exposure studies in the population have shown that ingestion is the main route of exposure to neonicotinoid， and the external exposure level is much lower than its chronic reference dose. The internal exposure study mainly detected the concentration of neonicotinoid pesticides and their metabolites in urine. A variety of neonicotinoid pesticides and their metabolites are detected in urine， and the concentration range is ng/ml level. Internal exposure studies found that the detection rate of thiamethoxam and dinotefuran in urine is higher， and the detection rate of neonicotinoid in Asian countries is higher than that in European and American countries. Occupational exposure studies found that neonicotinoid exposure levels increased after pesticide spraying， and the exposure levels in rural areas where pesticides were commonly used were higher than those in neighboring urban areas. Animal experiments have found that neonicotinoid pesticides have reproductive toxicity， genetic toxicity， neurotoxicity， immunotoxicity， liver toxicity and nephrotoxicity to non-target organisms. Cell experiments suggest that neonicotinoid is an endocrine disruptor. The symptoms of acute exposure in humans are related to the exposure dose， route and physical condition of the exposed person， which ranges from mild symptoms （nausea， vomiting， headache and diarrhea） to death. Population epidemiological studies have shown that chronic exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides is associated with adverse health effects in humans such as neonatal tetralogy of Fallot， anencephaly， and adverse mental symptoms.