You are here:
Relative Contributions of Agricultural Drift, Para-Occupational, and Residential Use Exposure Pathways to House Dust Pesticide Concentrations: Meta-Regression of Published Data
Citation:
Deziel, N., L. Beane Freeman, B. Graubard, R. Jones, J. Hoppin, K. Thomas, C. Hines, A. Blair, D. Sandler, H. Chen, J. Lubin, G. Andreotti, M. Alavanja, AND M. Friesen. Relative Contributions of Agricultural Drift, Para-Occupational, and Residential Use Exposure Pathways to House Dust Pesticide Concentrations: Meta-Regression of Published Data. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, NC, 125:296-305, (2017). https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP426
Impact/Purpose:
Increased pesticide concentrations in house dust in agricultural areas have been attributed to several exposure pathways, including agricultural drift, para-occupational, and residential use. To guide future exposure assessment efforts, we quantified relative contributions of these pathways using meta-regression models of published data on dust pesticide concentrations. Our quantification of the relative contributions of pesticide exposure pathways in agricultural populations could improve exposure assessments in epidemiologic studies. The meta-regression models can be updated when additional data become available.
Description:
Background: Increased pesticide concentrations in house dust in agricultural areas have been attributed to several exposure pathways, including agricultural drift, para-occupational, and residential use. Objective: To guide future exposure assessment efforts, we quantified relative contributions of these pathways using meta-regression models of published data on dust pesticide concentrations. Methods: From studies in North American agricultural areas published from 1995-2015, we abstracted dust pesticide concentrations reported as summary statistics (e.g., geometric means (GM)). We analyzed these data using mixed-effects meta-regression models that weighted each summary statistic by its inverse variance. Dependent variables were either the log-transformed GM (drift) or the log-transformed ratio of GMs from two groups (para-occupational, residential use). Results: For the drift pathway, predicted GMs decreased sharply and nonlinearly, with GMs 64% lower in homes 250 m versus 23 m from fields (inter-quartile range of published data) based on 52 statistics from 7 studies. For the para-occupational pathway, GMs were 2.3 times higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5-3.3; 15 statistics, 5 studies) in homes of farmers who applied pesticides more versus less recently or frequently. For the residential use pathway, GMs were 1.3 (95%CI: 1.1-1.4) and 1.5 (95%CI: 1.2-1.9) times higher in treated versus untreated homes, when the probability that a pesticide was used for the pest treatment was 1-19% and ≥20%, respectively (88 statistics, 5 studies). Conclusion: Our quantification of the relative contributions of pesticide exposure pathways in agricultural populations could improve exposure assessments in epidemiologic studies. The meta-regression models can be updated when additional data become available.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Relative Contributions of Agricultural Drift, Para-Occupational, and Residential Use Exposure Pathways to House Dust Pesticide Concentrations: Meta-Regression of Published Data
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP426