title: Urinary Concentrations of Insecticide and Herbicide Metabolites among Pregnant Women in Rural Ghana: A Pilot Study.
abstract: Use of pesticides by households in rural Ghana is common for residential pest control, agricultural use, and for the reduction of vectors carrying disease. However, few data are available about exposure to pesticides among this population. Our objective was to quantify urinary concentrations of metabolites of organophosphate (OP), pyrethroid, and select herbicides during pregnancy, and to explore exposure determinants. In 2014, 17 pregnant women from rural Ghana were surveyed about household pesticide use and provided weekly first morning urine voids during three visits (n= 51 samples). A total of 90.1% (46/51) of samples had detectable OP metabolites [geometric mean, GM (95% CI): 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol 0.54 µg/L (0.36-0.81), para-nitrophenol 0.71 µg/L (0.51-1.00)], 75.5% (37/49) had detectable pyrethroid metabolites [GM: 3-phenoxybenzoic acid 0.23 µg/L (0.17, 0.32)], and 70.5% (36/51) had detectable 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid levels, a herbicide [GM: 0.46 µg/L (0.29-0.73)]. Concentrations of para-nitrophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in Ghanaian pregnant women appear higher when compared to nonpregnant reproductive-aged women in a reference U.S.
  
  
  
  Larger studies are necessary to more fully explore predictors of exposure in this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Vincent Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. bwylie@mgh.harvard.edu.|Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. bwylie@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Blair J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Wylie
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana. kenneth.asayah@kintampo-hrc.org.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Ae-Ngibise
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana. ellen.boamah@kintampo-hrc.org.
authors.forename: Ellen A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Boamah
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana. mohammed.mujtaba@kintampo-hrc.org.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mujtaba
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. cmesser@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Messerlian
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. rhauser@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Russ
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. bcoull@hsph.harvard.edu.|Department of Statistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. bcoull@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coull
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. aic7@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Antonia M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Calafat
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. dj2183@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Darby
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. plk3@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Patrick L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Kinney
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. rmw5@cumc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whyatt
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana. seth.owusu-agyei@kintampo-hrc.org.
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Owusu-Agyei
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, P.O. Box 200, Brong Ahafo Region, Kintampo 00233, Ghana. kwakupoku.asante@kintampo-hrc.org.
authors.forename: Kwaku P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Asante
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006540:Herbicides / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000652:urine*; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000652:urine*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D006540:Herbicides; D007306:Insecticides
keywords: herbicides; insecticides; organophosphates; pregnancy; pyrethroids