Environmental #pesticide exposure and the risk of irritable bowel syndrome: A case-control study

Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology
Volume 98, March 2023, 104076
Lola Rueda-Ruzafa, Pablo Roman, Diana Cardona, Mar Requena, Carmen Ropero-Padilla, Raquel Alarcón

Highlights

• The risk of irritable bowel syndrome is higher in areas of high pesticide exposure.
• Agronomic criteria were used to categorize pesticide exposure in the study population.
• A total of 18,807 cases of irritable bowel syndrome were studied.
• Environmental pesticide exposure is linked to irritable bowel syndrome.

Abstract
The agricultural model in southern #Spain is highly productive, mainly due to the intensive cultivation under plastic. Despite strict pesticide regulation, human exposure to pesticides in the environment has been connected to an increase in diseases such as #CeliacDisease. Certain pesticides have also been associated to the disruption of the intestinal #microbiota, which has been xtied to the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A case-control study was conducted in Andalusia, south #Spain, to assess the prevalence and risk of IBS related to pesticide exposure. This research found a high prevalence of IBS in #Andalusia between 2000 and 2021 in areas with high pesticide exposure using agronomic criteria. Furthermore, the odds ratio for IBS was significantly higher in the population with high pesticide exposure. This study suggests that pesticides may be involved in IBS, whereas more research is needed to determine the role of pesticides in IBS symptomatology.

Excerpts: "[In the locations of the study], the most commonly used insecticides are #organophosphates (primarily chlorpyrifos), N-methylcarbamates, macrocyclic lactones, #neonicotinoids, and pyrethroids. #Fungicides frequently used in plastic greenhouses include (di) thiocarbamates, conazoles, dicarboximide), anilino-pyrimidines, and copper salts. Bipyridyl (paraquat, diquat), organophosphonates (#glyphosate), chlorotriazine, and phenylurea are the herbicides most popularly used in the study areas (García-García et al., 2016)."

[...]

Studies on Rats

"A wide range of environmental pollutants, including heavy metals, insecticides, herbicides, and pesticides, can cause gut dysbiosis (Jin et al., 2015, Lin et al., 2020, Reygner et al., 2016). As suggested in our findings, there is also an increased risk of IBS precisely in pesticide-heavy areas and particularly in women. Previous research have found sexually dimorphic metabolic effect after pesticides exposures (Lukowicz et al., 2018). In this regard, #Roundup®, a glyphosate-based herbicide (#GBH) widely used in Andalusian crops, can increase the #Bacteroidetes group while decreasing the #Lactobacillaceae family in fecal samples of female rats (Lozano et al., 2018). Similarly, chronic glyphosate exposure reduces Corynebacterium, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Lactobacillus in mice following GBH administration (Aitbali et al., 2018). Exposure to fungicides such as imazalil can also alter the composition of the GM after acute and chronic administration. Specifically, in mice, imazalil increases the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria while decreasing the abundance of Bacteroidetes (Jin et al., 2016). Insecticides such as chlorpyrifos, diazinon and aldicarb also disrupt the GM of rats and mice (Aitbali et al., 2018, Gao et al., 2019, Gao et al., 2017, Joly et al., 2013). This modification has been associated with increased intestinal permeability and bacterial translocation in the case of chlorpyrifos (Condette et al., 2014). Diazinon inhibits several SCFA-producing genera in the Lachnospiraceae family, which operate as an energy substrate for colonic epithelial cells, altering energy harvesting in the intestinal epithelium (Gao et al., 2017)."

Read more:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1382668923000170

#IBS #Bayer #ToxicPesticides
#Monocrops #Monocrap #BigAg
#BigChem #Poison #RoundUpKills #USPol #WorldPol #Roundup #Glyphosate #Herbicides

The perils of #neonicotinoids with the fantastic #DaveGoulson.

A regular dog flea treatment could kill 62 million honeybees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nJeTA-bIJU
#bees #insects

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France's Insect-Eating Bird Populations Show Early Signs of Recovery Following Pesticide Ban

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Pesticide spray drift from intensive horticulture on the the mid-north coast NSW -
Discontent in the region.

Home owners, dairy and beef producers among those concerned about how pesticide use affects their land as well as water quality on the mid-north coast

“Between 2001 and 2016 blueberry farming expanded 400% – mainly around the Coffs Harbour region.”

“This monitoring showed the continued detection of pesticides in most waterways sampled, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring in the region.”

“Monitoring in the Nambucca valley by the EPA has detected three different pesticides in low levels in three creeks, suggesting water quality in the area is not being impacted by excessive amounts of pesticides.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/09/blueberry-farms-nsw-north-coast-rapid-expansion-development-pesticides
#Pesticides #food #beef #diary #prawns #blueberries #plantations #monoculture #rivers #water #export #runoff #pollution #neonicotinoids #imidacloprid #dimethoate #SprayDrift #CoffsHarbour #Macksville #Nambucca #Woolgoolga #conflict #violence #EPA #regulation #horticulture #industry #tourism #PeoplesHomes #TankWater #governance #MidNorthCoast #NSW #biodiversity #wildlife #extractivism