Inner filter effect-based upconversion nanosensor for rapid detection of thiram pesticides using upconversion nanoparticles and dithizone-cadmium complexes.

Herein, we propose a method for detecting thiram based on the fluorescence inner filter effect using upconversion nanoparticles and dithizone-cadmium complexes (DZ-Cd2+). The ultraviolet absorption of DZ-Cd2+ was in the range of 480-600 nm under alkaline conditions, resulting in fluorescence quenching of the nanoparticles at 540 nm. Thiram had a stronger coordination effect with Cd2+ than dithizone; thus, more thiram-cadmium complex (T-Cd2+) formed when thiram was added, leading to fluorescence recovery at 540 nm. The standard thiram curve was found to have a detection limit of 6.75 ng/mL in the linear range of 0.01-1000 µg/mL. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography results for detecting thiram in apple samples revealed good application performance. The results demonstrate that the developed method has great potential to detect thiram residues in food.

An electrochemical AChE-based biosensor for organophosphate pesticides using a modified CuNWs/rGO nanocomposite on a screen-printed carbon electrode.

An enzymatic electrochemical biosensor was built for the indirect detection of organophosphates (OPs), based on acetylcholinesterase inhibition. The biosensor was fabricated for enhanced performance on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE), modified with copper nanowires (CuNWs) composited with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The oxidation current was measured using the cyclic voltammogram (CV) method, as generated by the enzymatic interaction between acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and its substrate, acetylthiocholine (ATCh). The biosensing response is the reduction in signal caused by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in the presence of an organophosphate inhibitor. Benchmarking shows that the CuNWs/rGO nanocomposite enhanced the signal current considerably and decreased the oxidation potential for electrochemical detection of the OP chlorpyrifos, exhibiting a wide linear detection rangefrom 10 µg/L-200 µg/L, with a limit of detection of 3.1 µg/L and limit of quantification of 12.5 µg/L. This sensor is useful for the analysis of chlorpyrifosin drinking water and orange juice, with high recovery rates and no interference effects.

Method optimisation for large scope pesticide multiresidue analysis in bee pollen: A pilot monitoring study.

Pesticide contamination in emerging foods and supplements is currently a topic of great interest. This study focused on the evaluation of pesticide residues in commercial bee pollen samples to evaluate the risk associated with their consumption. To this end, an automated clean-up method for the pesticide extracts of bee pollen was developed. An LC-MS/MS and a GC-MS/MS method were validated for the analysis of 353 pesticides in 80 bee pollen samples purchased from different countries. The results showed the presence of 77 different pesticide residues in bee pollen, including plant protection chemicals and veterinary treatments. 85 % of the samples were contaminated with pesticides and no relevant differences were found between conventional and organic samples. Pesticide concentrations exceeding the imposed MRL were found in 40 % of the samples, but the risk assessment showed that consumers are not exposed to an unacceptable risk when consuming the evaluated bee pollen.

Design of a novel SERS substrate by electrospinning for the detection of thiabendazole in soy-based foods.

This study aimed to detect and quantify thiabendazole in soy products by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with electrospun substrates. Enhanced Raman signals were acquired from uniform electrospun substrates, which were analyzed by focusing on the CN stretching modes at 1592 cm-1 for soy sauce and 1580 cm-1 for soy milk. The results revealed a linear relationship between the signal intensity and analyte concentrations with high R2 values (99.42 % for soy sauce and 99.75 % for soy milk). The limits of quantification (LOQ) were determined to be 69.9 ppb for soy milk and 240.59 ppb for soy sauce samples. The limits of detection (LOD) were found to be 23.1 ppb for soy milk and 79.4 ppb for soy sauce. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the electrospinning-SERS approach for detecting thiabendazole in soy-based food samples, contributing to the understanding of pesticide contamination and ensuring the quality and safety of food products.

Water in liquid crystal emulsion-based sensing platform for colorimetric detection of organophosphorus pesticide.

Development of a simple and convenient method for the rapid detection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) is particular important for the safety of environmental water and agriculture products. In this work, the water/liquid crystal (W/LC) emulsion is obtained via dispersing an aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and peroxidase from horseradish (HRP) into a water-immiscible nematic LC and employed as a sensing platform for the detection of dichlorvos (2, 2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, DDVP) that is a typical OP with acute toxicity. Remarkably, the stepwise release of the encapsulated cargo HRP from the W/LC emulsion can be triggered upon the addition of the cationic surfactant myristoylcholine chloride (Myr) due to the strong interfacial charge interactions with the anionic surfactant SDS. The released HRP induces an obvious color change of the overlaying bulk aqueous solution via the H2O2-HRP-TMB reaction system. As Myr can be enzymatically cleaved by AChE, the detection of AChE is fulfilled successfully. This approach is also employed to detect DDVP that can irreversibly inhibit the activity of AChE. This assay shows a linear response between the absorbance of the oxidized TMB solution and the DDVP concentration in the range of 0.001-10 µg/mL (R2 = 0.99). The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantity (LOQ) of DDVP are determined to be 1.9 ng/mL and 6.3 ng/mL, respectively. In addition, this strategy also demonstrates excellent performance for the DDVP detection in real samples, the detection recovery rate of DDVP in water samples (lake water and tap water) and vegetables (tomatoes and cole) by this method is 88.0 % ∼112.6 %, the relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤ 7.5 %. These results suggest the W/LC emulsion-based sensing platform shows great potential for visual detection of DDVP in real samples. In conclusion, the proposed approach is scalable for practical application in food safety as well as environmental monitoring fields, and will provide promising solutions for the assay of pesticide residues.

Multi-residue pesticides determination in complex food matrices by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

An analytical method for determination of GC-amenable pesticides in complex matrices, was validated based on QuEChERS sample preparation and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Performance of the method was tested according to the EU SANTE guidelines for 172 pesticides belonging to different chemical classes, in three representative complex matrices. Three concentration levels were tested in order to establish the lowest limit of quantification possible. For some matrix/pesticide combination, careful selection of the quantification/confirmation transitions was key to avoid interferences. Accurate quantification was achieved by standard addition. The number of compounds fulfilling EU SANTE criteria at 10 µg/kg and 100 µg/kg were 93 and 148 for roasted coffee, 93 and 112 for green tea and 98 and 111 for curry respectively. The method was further evaluated in different matrices (chili, clove, cumin, paprika and rosemary) with 50-90 % of the compounds fulfilling the validation criteria depending on the matrix.

Development and application of a new QuEChERS-molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (QuEChERS-MISPE) technique for analysis of DDT and its derivatives in vegetables.

The current study synthesized a molecularly imprinted polymer, combined it with the QuEChERS method to form a new hybrid technique, the QuEChERS-MISPE as an alternative to the QuEChERS-dSPE for analysis of DDTs as model pesticides. Batch studies confirmed that the binding of the DDTs to the MIP cavities formed a monolayer formation through chemisorption resulting in an adsorption capacity of 429 ng g-1. A study of matrix effects indicated signal suppression for both techniques. However, the new QuEChERS-MISPE technique is less affected by matrix effects, has better sensitivity and recoveries compared to the conventional QuEChERS-dSPE technique. Application of the new QuEChERS-MISPE technique detected trace levels of DDTs in vegetables in South Africa. However, a health risk assessment indicated that potential risks for consumers was minimal. Although the risk is minimal, the detection of DDTs in vegetables in South Africa should be a concern and more constant monitoring is required.

Glyphosate effect on biofilms formation, mutagenesis and stress response of E. сoli.

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world. There is still no complete clarity about the degree of its genotoxicity and mutagenicity. In addition, its effect on bacterial biofilms, the main life form of soil microbial communities, has not been adequately studied. Toxicity and mutagenicity, as well as changes in the bacterial biofilm biomass, physiological activity, and the number of living cells in its composition in the presence of glyphosate were assessed using the Escherichia coli model. To assess damage to cellular components under the action of this pesticide, luminescent whole-cell bacterial lux-biosensors were used. Changes in the level of mutagenesis were studied by the method of rifampicin mutants. High integral toxicity of glyphosate, the average level of increased oxidative stress and protein damage were shown with the help of bacterial biosensors. All the studied concentrations of the pesticide completely or partially suppress the matrix and structure of the E. coli CDC F-50 biofilm formation, as well as the bacterial cells metabolic activity in the biofilm. At the concentrations of 6.7 and 0.67 g/L, glyphosate suppresses mutagenesis, probably due to general suppression of metabolism, and at the concentration of 0.0067 g/L, it enhances mutagenesis by six times compared with the spontaneous level. Suppression of bacterial biofilms formation, toxic effects on microorganisms, and mutagenesis enhancement by glyphosate can lead to negative consequences for natural microbiomes.

Adaptive evolution of Sphingopyxis sp. MC4 conferred degradation potential for persistent ß- and δ-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers.

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), an organochlorine pesticide imposes several harmful impacts on the ecosystem. ß- and δ-isomers of HCH are highly toxic, persistent, and recalcitrant to biodegradation, slow and incomplete degradation of ß- and δ- isomers have been reported in a few strains. We have isolated a strain designated as Sphingopyxis strain MC4 that can tolerate and degrade high concentrations of α-, ß-, γ- and δ-HCH isomers. To date, no other Sphingopyxis strain has been reported to degrade ß- and δ-isomers. To understand the underlying genetic makeup contributing to adaptations, the whole genome of strain MC4 was sequenced. Comparative genome analysis showed that strain MC4 harbors the complete pathway (lin genes) required for HCH degradation. Genetic footprints such as presence of lin genes on genomic islands, IS6100 elements in close proximity of lin genes, and synteny in lin flanking regions with other strains reflects the horizontal gene transfer in strain MC4. Positive selection and HGT drive the adaptive evolution of strain MC4 under the pressure of HCH contamination that it experienced in its surrounding niche. In silico analyses showed efficient binding of ß- and δ-isomers with enzymes leading to rapid degradation that need further validation by cloning and biochemical experiments.

Association of hair polychlorinated biphenyls and multiclass pesticides with obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia in NESCAV study.

Obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia are well-established risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and have been associated with exposure to persistent organic pollutants. However, studies have been lacking as regards effects of non-persistent pesticides on CVD risk factors. Here, we investigated whether background chronic exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and multiclass pesticides were associated with the prevalence of these CVD risk factors in 502 Belgian and 487 Luxembourgish adults aged 18-69 years from the Nutrition, environment and cardiovascular health (NESCAV) study 2007-2013. We used hair analysis to evaluate the chronic internal exposure to three PCBs, seven organochlorine pesticides (OCs) and 18 non-persistent pesticides. We found positive associations of obesity with hexachlorobenzene (HCB), ß-hexachlorocyclohexane (ß-HCH) and chlorpyrifos, diabetes with pentachlorophenol (PCP), fipronil and fipronil sulfone, hypertension with PCB180 and chlorpyrifos, and dyslipidemia with diflufenican and oxadiazon, among others. However, we also found some inverse associations, such as obesity with PCP, diabetes with γ-HCH, hypertension with diflufenican, and dyslipidemia with chlorpyrifos. These results add to the existing evidence that OC exposure may contribute to the development of CVDs. Additionally, the present study revealed associations between CVD risk factors and chronic environmental exposure to currently used pesticides such as organophosphorus and pyrethroid pesticides.

Pesticide effect on earthworm lethality via interpretable machine learning.

Earthworms are among the most important animals (invertebrates) for soil health. Many chemical substances released into nature for agricultural development, such as pesticides, may have unwanted effects on those organisms. However, it is essential to understand the extent of the impact of chemicals on soil health first and then make the proper decisions for regulatory or commercial purposes. We hypothesize that there is an expressible quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) between the structure of pesticide compounds and the acute toxicity effect of earthworm species Eisenia fetida. The description of this relationship allows for a better assessment of the impact of chemicals on the said earthworm. To describe this relationship, a dataset of chemicals was collected from open-access sources to develop a mathematical model. A novel approach, combining genetic algorithm and Bayesian optimization, was used to select structural features into the model and to optimize model parameters. The final QSAR classification model was created with the Random Forest algorithm and exhibited good prediction Accuracy of 0.78 on training set and 0.80 on test set. The model representation follows FAIR principles and is available on QsarDB.org.

A study on the mechanism of the impact of phenthoate exposure on Prorocentrum lima.

Extensive application of organophosphorus pesticides such as phenthoate results in its abundance in ecosystems, particularly in waterbodies, thereby providing the impetus to assess its role in aquatic organisms. However, the impact of phenthoate on marine algal physiological and proteomic response is yet to be explored despite its biological significance. In this study, we thus ought to investigate the impact of phenthoate in the marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima, which is known for synthesizing okadaic acid (OA), the toxin responsible for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP). Our results showed that P. lima effectively absorbed phenthoate in seawater, with a reduction efficiency of 90.31% after 48 h. Surprisingly, the provision of phenthoate (100 and 1000 µg/L) substantially reduced the OA content of P. lima by 35.08% and 60.28% after 48 h, respectively. Meanwhile, phenthoate treatment significantly reduced the oxidative stress in P. lima. Proteomic analysis revealed that the expression level of seven crucial proteins involved in endocytosis was upregulated, suggesting that P. lima could absorb phenthoate via the endocytic signaling pathway. Importantly, phenthoate treatment resulted in the downregulation of proteins such as polyketide synthase (PKS)- 2, Cytochrome P450 (CYP450)- 1, and CYP450-2, involved in OA synthesis, thereby decreasing the OA biosynthesis by P. lima. Our results demonstrated the potential role of P. lima in the removal of phenthoate in water and exemplified the crucial proteins and their possible molecular mechanisms underpinning the phenthoate remediation by P. lima and also the regulatory role of phenthoate in restricting the OA metabolism. Collectively, these findings uncovered the synergistic mechanisms of phenthoate and P. lima in remediating phenthoate and reducing the toxic impact of P. lima.

Different sized gold nanoparticles for array-based sensing of pesticides and its application for strawberry pollution monitoring.

The use of pesticides plays an essential role in improving crop quality and yield, however, it causes air, water, and soil pollution and the residue of these pesticides in agricultural products threatens the ecosystem and human life. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop rapid, simple, and cost-effective methods for regular monitoring of pesticide residues in agricultural products especially strawberry that is consumed fresh and unpeeled. In this study, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of varying sizes have been exploited as sensing units to design a non-enzymatic colorimetric sensor array for the detection and discrimination of various pesticides including; bifenazate (BF), paraquat (PQ), diazinon (DZ), thiometon (TM), and carbendazim (CD) and chlorpyrifos (CP). Because of their strong size- and environmentally-dependent properties, AuNPs with different sizes produced distinguished plasmonic patterns in the presence of pesticides at a vast range of concentrations (25-800 ng mL-1). Plasmonic patterns of sensor units have been analyzed by various data visualization (bar plots and heat maps) and pattern recognition methods (linear discriminant analysis (LDA)). The multivariate calibrations showed linear responses ranging from 50 to 800 ng mL-1 for carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, paraquat, and bifenazate and 25-800 ng mL-1 for diazinon and thiometon. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 17.7, 22.8, 22.4, 9.7, 7.4, and 23.8 ng mL-1 for carbendazim, chlorpyrifos, paraquat, diazinon, thiometon, and bifenazate respectively. Finally, the applicability of the designed sensor was evaluated in real samples comprising tap water, well water, soil, and fruit, leave, drainage water, and culture substrate of strawberry.

Soil properties and organochlorine compounds co-shape the microbial community structure: A case study of an obsolete site.

Organochlorine compounds (OCs) such as chlorobenzenes (CB) are persistent organic pollutants that are ubiquitous in soils at organochlorine pesticides (OCP) production sites. Long-term contamination with OCs might alter the soil microbial structure and further affect soil functions. However, the effects of OCs regarding the shaping of microbial community structures in the soils of OCs-contaminated sites remain obscure, especially in the vertical soil profile where pollutants are highly concealed. Hence this paper explored the status and causes of OCs pollution (CB, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)) in an obsolete site, and its combined effects with soil properties (pH, available phosphorus (AP), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), etc) on microbial community structure. The mean total concentration of OCs in the subsoils was up to 996 times higher than that in the topsoils, with CB constituting over 90% of OCs in the subsoil. Historical causes, anthropogenic effects, soil texture, and the nature of OCs contributed to the differences in the spatial distribution of OCs. Redundancy analysis revealed that both the soil properties and OCs were important factors in shaping microbial composition and diversity. Variation partitioning analysis further indicated that soil properties had a greater impact on microbial community structure than OCs. Significant differences in microbial composition between topsoils and subsoils were observed through linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis, primarily driven by different pollutant conditions. Additionally, co-occurrence network analysis indicated that heavily contaminated subsoils exhibited closer and more intricate bacterial community interactions compared to lightly contaminated topsoils. This work reveals the impact of environmental factors in co-shaping the structure of soil microbial communities. These findings advance our understanding of the intricate interplay among organochlorine pollutants, soil properties, and microbial communities, and provides valuable insights into devising effective management strategies in OCs-contaminated soils.

Voltammetric nano-molar range quantification of agrochemical pesticide using needle-like strontium pyrophosphate embedded on sulfur doped graphitic carbon nitride electrocatalyst.

The development of a viable sensor for agrochemical pesticides requires the assessment of trace levels. To achieve this, we developed a diphenylamine (DPA) sensor using needle-like strontium pyrophosphate embedded in sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (SrPO/SCN). We obtained needle-like SrPO/SCN nanocomposite through co-precipitation followed by ultrasonication. The formation of the SrPO/SCN nanocomposite was verified through FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM-EDX, and HR-TEM analyses. Additionally, we explored their electrochemical behavior towards DPA using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The SrPO/SCN nanocomposite-modified electrode exhibited a higher anodic peak current (15.47 µA) than those of the other modified and unmodified electrodes. Under optimal experimental conditions, SrPO/SCN/GCE demonstrated a good limit of detection (0.009 µmol/L), dynamic linear range (0.05-98 µmol/L), and sensitivity (0.36 µAµM-1cm-2). Furthermore, the developed sensor exhibited excellent reproducibility, selectivity, and stability, and successfully detected DPA in real samples, including pear and apple samples, with good recoveries.

Ultra-low esfenvalerate exposure may disrupt interspecific competition.

Field and mesocosm studies repeatedly show that higher tier processes reduce the predictive accuracy of toxicity evaluation and thus their value for pesticide risk assessment. Therefore, understanding the influence of ecological complexity on toxicant effects is crucial to improve realism of aquatic risk assessment. Here we investigate the influence of repeated exposure to ecologically realistic concentrations of esfenvalerate on the two similarly sensitive species Daphnia magna and Culex pipiens in a food limited and highly competitive environment. We show that significant perturbations in population development are only present at 100 ng/L (close to the EC50). In contrast, interspecific competition between species is already reduced at 0.1 ng/L (≤ 3 orders of magnitude below the acute lethal EC50). We conclude that extremely low, environmentally relevant concentrations can disrupt species interactions. This toxicant mediated alteration of competitive balances in ecological communities may be the underlying mechanism for shifts in species distribution at ultra-low pesticide concentrations. A realistic risk assessment should therefore consider these processes in order to predict potential pesticide effects on the structure of communities.

Chronic exposure to pesticides disrupts the bacterial and fungal co-existence and the cross-kingdom network characteristics of honey bee gut microbiome.

Gut microbiome communities have a significant impact on bee health and disease and have been shown to be shaped by a variety of factors, including exposure to pesticides and inhive chemicals. However, it is unknown whether pesticide exposure affects the coexistence and cross-kingdom network parameters of bee gut microbiome communities because microbes may compete in the gut environment under different stressors. Therefore, we conducted additional analysis of the microbiome data from our previous study in which we discovered that exposure to two novel insecticides flupyradifurone (FPF) and sulfoxaflor (Sulf) or/and a fungicide, azoxystrobin (Azoxy) caused dysbiosis of bee gut microbiota that was associated with an increase in the relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens such as Serratia marcescens. We investigated for the first time the potential cross-kingdom fungal-bacterial interactions using co-occurrence pattern correlation and network analysis. We discovered that exposure to FPF or Sulf alone or in combination with Azoxy fungicide influenced the co-existence patterns of fungal and bacterial communities. Significant differences in degree centrality, closeness centrality, and eigenvector centrality distribution indices were also found in single and double-treatment groups compared to controls. The effects of FPF and Sulf alone on cross-kingdom parameters (bacterial to fungal node ratio, degree of centrality, closeness centrality, and eigenvector centrality) were distinct, but this was reversed when they were combined with Azoxy fungicide. The fungal and bacterial hub taxa identified differed, with only a few shared hubs across treatments, suggesting microbial cross-kingdom networks may be disrupted differently under different stressors. Our findings add to our understanding of pesticide effects on the bee gut microbiome and bee health in general, while also emphasizing the importance of cross-kingdom network analysis in future microbiome research.

Residential proximity to vines and risk of childhood embryonal tumours in France - GEOCAP case-control study, 2006-2013.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to pesticides has been suggested as a potential risk factor for childhood embryonal tumour. The existing literature has mainly focused on parental occupational exposure and domestic use of pesticides, and is very limited for residential exposures to agricultural pesticides. The study aimed to test the hypothesis of an increased risk of embryonal tumour in children living close to viticultural plots, likely to be subject to frequent pesticide applications. METHODS: The study is part of the French national registry-based GEOCAP program. We included 2761 cases of neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour and rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed before the age of 15 years in the 2006-2013 period, and 40,196 controls representative of the same age population during this period. Indicators of proximity to vines, the presence of vines and viticulture density within 1000 m of the geocoded addresses of residence, were evaluated combining three sources of data on agricultural land use in a geographic information system. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using unconditional logistic regressions and carried out several sensitivity analyses to test the stability of the results. RESULTS: Approximately 10% of the controls lived within 1000 m of vines, with regional variations ranging from <1% to 38%. We observed a 5% increase in the risk of neuroblastoma for a 10% increase in viticulture density (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.98-1.13), with a regional heterogeneity. The indicators of proximity to vines were not associated with the other non-CNS embryonal tumours. CONCLUSION: The study showed a slight increase in the risk of neuroblastoma in children living close to vines, suggesting that residential exposure to agricultural pesticides may be involved in the occurrence of these tumours.

Development of aptasensor for chlorpyrifos detection using paper-based screen-printed electrode.

Novel Carbon quantum dots-graphite composite ink-based Screen-printed electrodes (CQDs/SPEs) were used to assemble a highly sensitive electrochemical aptasensor against chlorpyrifos (CPF). The aptasensor showed a broad linear range from 1 pM (0.445 ng/ml) to 500 nM (0.22 mg/ml) with a detection limit (LOD) 0.834 pM (0.37 ng/ml); sensitivity 21.39 µA pM-1 cm- 2 and with good linearity of R2 = 0.973. Moreover, the aptasensor's showed better selectivity among few other pesticides. Further, the aptasensor electrode showed high stability for five months when stored at 4 °C. In the final step, the aptasensor's ability to identify CPF in real samples was evaluated on spiked potato (Solanum tuberosum) extract samples. Potato extract spiked with CPF in the electrochemical aptasensing platform showed excellent linearity of R2 = 0.981. The developed aptasensor showed good response to without spiked potato extract with increasing volumes. Hence, the developed aptasensor demonstrated reasonable applicability in real food and agriculture samples.

Associations of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease among Chinese adults: Effect modification by lifestyle.

Exposure to environmental pollutants and unhealthy lifestyles are key risk factors for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). While previous studies have suggested links between exposure to organochlorine pesticides (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and MAFLD, the results have been inconsistent. Furthermore, the combined effects of PCBs and OCPs on MAFLD and whether lifestyle factors can modify the associations remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the individual and joint effects of PCBs and OCPs on MAFLD and explore the potential modifying role of lifestyle. The study included 1923 participants from Wuhan, China. MAFLD was diagnosed based on ultrasonically diagnosed hepatic steatosis and the presence of overweight/obese, diabetes mellitus, or metabolic dysregulation. Healthy lifestyle score was determined by smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet. Logistic regression and weighted quantile sum (WQS) were used to assess associations of individual and mixture of PCBs/OCPs with MAFLD. To explore the potential lifestyle modification, joint associations of PCBs/OCPs and lifestyle on MAFLD were conducted. Single-pollutant analysis showed positive associations of p,p'-DDE, ß-HCH, PCB-153, and PCB-180 with MAFLD, with ORs (95% CIs) of 1.18 (1.05, 1.33), 1.57 (1.20, 2.05), 1.45 (1.14, 1.83), and 1.42 (1.12, 1.80), respectively. WQS regression demonstrated a harmful effect of PCBs/OCPs mixture on MAFLD (OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.24, 2.43), with ß-HCH, p,p'-DDE, and PCB-180 being the major contributors. In the joint association analysis, participants with both high PCBs/OCPs exposure and unhealthy lifestyle have the highest odds of MAFLD. In conclusion, exposure to the mixture of PCBs and OCPs was positively correlated with MAFLD, and adopting a healthy lifestyle can mitigate the adverse impact.