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Long-term Health Effects of Childhood Glyphosate Exposure

Rates of youth liver disease and metabolic disorders have increased dramatically in recent decades. Dr. Brenda Eskenazi will present the results of a long-term study examining possible links between whether glyphosate exposure and liver disease and metabolic disorders. Glyphosate is the most widely-used broad-spectrum herbicide in the world.

The researchers followed 480 mother-child pairs from pregnancy through age 18. They also gathered additional data through a nested case-control study, in which they examined 60 young adults with elevated levels of certain liver enzymes and compared them with 91 young adults with normal levels of those enzymes.

The mother-child pairs were enrolled and studied through the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). This study focused on primarily farmworker families in the Salinas Valley, California, and children born between 2000 and 2002.

The researchers measured urinary levels of glyphosate and a breakdown product of glyphosate, AMPA. Urine samples were collected during pregnancy and when the children reached the ages of 5, 14, and 18. The researchers also estimated the amount of glyphosate applied within a one-kilometer radius around each home from pregnancy through age 5, using pesticide application data reported to the state of California. When the children reached the age of 18, the researchers measured liver enzyme levels and markers of metabolic syndrome.

Urinary markers of glyphosate and AMPA exposure in childhood were associated with elevated liver enzymes and elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. Living near agricultural glyphosate applications between birth and age 5 was also associated with metabolic syndrome at age 18. The researchers conclude that childhood glyphosate exposure may increase risk of liver and metabolic disorders in young adults.

Apr 13, 2023 01:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)