title: Pesticide use and thyroid disease among women in the Agricultural Health Study.
abstract: Thyroid disease is common, and evidence of an association between organochlorine exposure and thyroid disease is increasing. The authors examined the cross-sectional association between ever use of organochlorines and risk of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism among female spouses (n = 16,529) in Iowa and North Carolina enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study in 1993-1997. They also assessed risk of thyroid disease in relation to ever use of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and fumigants. Prevalence of self-reported clinically diagnosed thyroid disease was 12.5%, and prevalence of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism was 6.9% and 2.1%, respectively. There was an increased odds of hypothyroidism with ever use of organochlorine insecticides (adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)) = 1.2 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0, 1.6) and fungicides (OR(adj) = 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.8) but no association with ever use of herbicides, fumigants, organophosphates, pyrethroids, or carbamates. Specifically, ever use of the organochlorine chlordane (OR(adj) = 1.3 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.7), the fungicides benomyl (OR(adj) = 3.1 (95% CI: 1.9, 5.1) and maneb/mancozeb (OR(adj) = 2.2 (95% CI: 1.5, 3.3), and the herbicide paraquat (OR(adj) = 1.8 (95% CI: 1.1, 2.8) was significantly associated with hypothyroidism. Maneb/mancozeb was the only pesticide associated with both hyperthyroidism (OR(adj) = 2.3 (95% CI: 1.2, 4.4) and hypothyroidism. These data support a role of organochlorines, in addition to fungicides, in the etiology of thyroid disease among female spouses enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198-3020, USA. wgoldner@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Whitney S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Goldner
authors.forename: Dale P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sandler
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hoppin
authors.forename: Freya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kamel
authors.forename: Tricia D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Levan
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005651:Fumigation / Q000009:adverse effects; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000633:toxicity; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018454:Spouses; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D006540:Herbicides; D010575:Pesticides