%0 Journal Article %J J Occup Environ Med %D 2023 %T Comparing Longitudinal Measures of Cholinesterase as Biomarkers for Insecticide Exposure Among Latinx Children in Rural Farmworker and Urban Non-Farmworker Communities in North Carolina. %A Sara A Quandt %A Smith, Sydney A %A Thomas A Arcury %A Haiying Chen %A Kirstin Hester %A Carey N Pope %A Kim A Anderson %A Paul J Laurienti %X

OBJECTIVE: In a two-group prospective design, this study compares seasonal cholinesterase levels of Latinx children in rural farmworker families and comparable urban children, to assess the impact of environmental exposure to cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticides.

METHODS: Quarterly blood samples and passive dosimeter wristbands were collected over 2 years in 8 year old children (74 rural, 62 urban). Laboratory analysis assessed total cholinesterase (total ChE), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) from blood samples, and insecticides from wristbands.

RESULTS: In spring and summer, total ChE and AChE levels were depressed in rural children compared to winter and fall. BChE was depressed in rural children in fall, compared to spring and summer. Adjustment for insecticide exposure did not affect these associations.

CONCLUSIONS: Environmental exposures to cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticides have measurable biochemical effects on blood cholinesterases in rural children from farmworker families.

%B J Occup Environ Med %8 2023 Sep 06 %G eng %R 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002965 %0 Journal Article %D 2023 %T Follicular DNA Damage and Pesticide Exposure Among Latinx Children in Rural and Urban Communities %A Cassandra Lepetit %A Mohamed Gaber %A Ke Zhou %A Haiying Chen %A Julia Holmes %A Phillip Summers %A Kim A Anderson %A Richard P Scott %A Carey N Pope %A Kirstin Hester %A Paul J Laurienti %A Sara A Quandt %A Thomas A Arcury %A Pierre‑Alexandre Vidi %X

The intersectional risks of children in United States immigrant communities include environmental exposures. Pesticide exposures and their biological outcomes are not well characterized in this population group. We assessed pesticide exposure and related these exposures to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in Latinx children from rural, farmworker families (FW; N = 30) and from urban, non-farmworker families (NFW; N = 15) living in North Carolina. DSBs were quantified in hair follicular cells by immunostaining of 53BP1, and exposure to 72 pesticides and pesticide degradation products were determined using silicone wristbands. Cholinesterase activity was measured in blood samples. DSB frequencies were higher in FW compared to NFW children. Seasonal effects were detected in the FW group, with highest DNA damage levels in April–June and lowest levels in October–November. Acetylcholinesterase depression had the same seasonality and correlated with follicular DNA damage. Organophosphate pesticides were more frequently detected in FW than in NFW children. Participants with organophosphate detections had increased follicular DNA damage compared to participants without organophosphate detection. Follicular DNA damage did not correlate with organochlorine or pyrethroid detections and was not associated with the total number of pesticides detected in the wristbands. These results point to rural disparities in pesticide exposures and their outcomes in children from vulnerable immigrant communities. They suggest that among the different classes of pesticides, organophosphates have the strongest genotoxic effects. Assessing pesticide exposures and their consequences at the individual level is key to environmental surveillance programs. To this end, the minimally invasive combined approach used here is particularly well suited for children.

%8 09/2023 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Heliyon %D 2023 %T Neuroanatomical differences in Latinx children from rural farmworker families and urban non-farmworker families and related associations with pesticide exposure. %A Khodaei, Mohammadreza %A Dobbins, Dorothy L %A Paul J Laurienti %A Simpson, Sean L %A Thomas A Arcury %A Sara A Quandt %A Kim A Anderson %A Richard P Scott %A Jonathan H Burdette %X

Exposure to pesticides in humans may lead to changes in brain structure and function and increase the likelihood of experiencing neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite the potential risks, there is limited neuroimaging research on the effects of pesticide exposure on children, particularly during the critical period of brain development. Here we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) from magnetic resonance images (MRI) to investigate neuroanatomical differences between Latinx children (n = 71) from rural, farmworker families (FW; n = 48) and urban, non-farmworker families (NFW; n = 23). Data presented here serves as a baseline for our ongoing study examining the longitudinal effects of living in a rural environment on neurodevelopment and cognition in children. The VBM analysis revealed that NFW children had higher volume in several distinct regions of white matter compared to FW children. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) of DTI data also indicated NFW children had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) in several key white matter tracts. Although the difference was not as pronounced as white matter, the VBM analysis also found higher gray matter volume in selected regions of the frontal lobe in NFW children. Notably, white matter and gray matter findings demonstrated a high degree of overlap in the medial frontal lobe, a brain region predominantly linked to decision-making, error processing, and attention functions. To gain further insights into the underlying causes of the observed differences in brain structure between the two groups, we examined the association of organochlorine (OC) and organophosphate (OP) exposure collected from passive dosimeter wristbands with brain structure. Based on our previous findings within this data set, demonstrating higher OC exposure in children from non-farmworker families, we hypothesized OC might play a critical role in structural differences between NFW and FW children. We discovered a significant positive correlation between the number of types of OC exposure and the structure of white matter. The regions with significant association with OC exposure were in agreement with the findings from the FW-NFW groups comparison analysis. In contrast, OPs did not have a statistically significant association with brain structure. This study is among the first multimodal neuroimaging studies examining the brain structure of children exposed to agricultural pesticides, specifically OC. These findings suggest OC pesticide exposure may disrupt normal brain development in children, highlighting the need for further neuroimaging studies within this vulnerable population.

%B Heliyon %V 9 %P e21929 %8 2023 Nov %G eng %N 11 %R 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21929 %0 Journal Article %J Int J Environ Res Public Health %D 2023 %T Pesticide Exposure among Latinx Children in Rural Farmworker and Urban Non-Farmworker Communities: Associations with Locality and Season. %A Thomas A Arcury %A Haiying Chen %A Sara A Quandt %A Jennifer W Talton %A Kim A Anderson %A Richard P Scott %A Phillip Summers %A Paul J Laurienti %K Agriculture %K Child %K Chlorpyrifos %K Environmental Exposure %K Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry %K Hispanic or Latino %K Humans %K Pesticides %K Pyrethrins %K Seasons %X

This study uses repeated measures to document the pesticide exposure of rural and urban Latinx children (age eight at baseline), and to compare these children in terms of the frequency and concentration of their exposure to a large set of pesticides, accounting for season. We used silicone wristbands worn for one week up to ten times at quarterly intervals from 2018 to 2022 to assess pesticide exposure in children from rural farmworker ( = 75) and urban non-farmworker ( = 61) families. We determined the detection and concentrations (ng/g) of 72 pesticides and pesticide degradation products in the wristbands using gas chromatography electron capture detection and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The most frequently detected pesticide classes were organochlorines, pyrethroids, and organophosphates. Controlling for season, organochlorine or phenylpyrazole detections were less likely for rural children than for urban children. Detections of organochlorines, pyrethroids, or organophosphates were lower in spring and summer versus winter. Controlling for season, urban children had greater concentrations of organochlorines, while rural children had greater concentrations of pyrethroids and Chlorpyrifos. Pesticide concentrations were lower in winter and spring compared with summer and fall. These results further document that pesticides are ubiquitous in the living environment for children in vulnerable, immigrant communities.

%B Int J Environ Res Public Health %V 20 %8 2023 Apr 26 %G eng %N 9 %R 10.3390/ijerph20095647 %0 Journal Article %J Neurotoxicol Teratol %D 2022 %T Comparing impact of pesticide exposure on cognitive abilities of Latinx children from rural farmworker and urban non-farmworker families in North Carolina. %A Dobbins, Dorothy L %A Haiying Chen %A Milton J. Cepeda %A Berenson, Lesley %A Jennifer W Talton %A Kim A Anderson %A Jonathan H Burdette %A Sara A Quandt %A Thomas A Arcury %A Paul J Laurienti %K Agriculture %K Child %K Child, Preschool %K Cognition %K Environmental Exposure %K Farmers %K Female %K Humans %K North Carolina %K Occupational Exposure %K Pesticides %K Pregnancy %X

Pesticide exposure remains a health hazard despite extensive study into adverse effects. Children in vulnerable populations, such as Latinx children in farmworker families, are particularly at risk for exposure. Several studies have demonstrated the detrimental cognitive effects of prenatal exposure to pesticides, particularly organophosphates (OPs) within this high-risk group. However, results from studies investigating the cognitive effects of early childhood pesticide exposure are equivocal. Most studies examining the effects of pesticide exposure have used correlative analyses rather than examining populations with expected high and low exposure. The current study compares 8-year-old children from rural families of farmworkers and urban, non-farmworker families. We used the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V) to assess cognitive performance in these children. We designed this study with the expectation that children from farmworker families would have greater exposure to agricultural pesticides than urban, non-farmworker children. This assumption of exposure to agricultural pesticides was confirmed in a recent report that assessed exposure probabilities using life history calendars. However, data from passive wristband sampling of acute (1-week) pesticide exposure from these same children indicate that both study populations have considerable pesticide exposure but to different chemicals. As expected the children of farmworkers had greater OP exposure than non-farmworker children, but the non-farmworker children had greater exposure to two other classes of insecticides (organochlorines [OCs] and pyrethroids). Our analyses considered these findings. A comparison of the cognitive scores between groups revealed that children from farmworker families had slightly higher performance on the Visual-Spatial Index (VSI) and Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) when compared to children from non-farmworker families. Regression analyses where pesticide exposure was included as covariates revealed that OC exposure accounted for the largest portion of the group differences for both VSI and VCI. However, a post-hoc moderation analysis did not find significant interactions. The main study outcome was that the non-farmworker children exhibited lower WISC-V scores than the children from farmworker families, and the analyses incorporating pesticide exposure measures raise the hypothesis the that pervasive and persistent nature of a variety of pesticides may have adverse effects on the neurodevelopment of young Latinx children whether living in rural or non-farmworker environments.

%B Neurotoxicol Teratol %V 92 %P 107106 %8 2022 Jul-Aug %G eng %R 10.1016/j.ntt.2022.107106 %0 Journal Article %J J Occup Environ Med %D 2021 %T Menstrual Cycle Patterns and Irregularities in Hired Latinx Child Farmworkers. %A Varnell, Rebecca R %A Arnold, Taylor J %A Sara A Quandt %A Jennifer W Talton %A Haiying Chen %A Miles, Christopher M %A Daniel, Stephanie S %A Sandberg, Joanne C %A Kim A Anderson %A Thomas A Arcury %X

PURPOSE: This study identifies the menstrual cycle irregularities of Latinx child and adolescent farmworkers.

METHODS: Child and adolescent farmworkers aged 13 to 20 years completed questionnaires about menstrual cycle patterns in 2019, and wore silicone passive collection wristbands for pesticide detection in 2018. Menstrual cycle irregularities were determined from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists committee opinion.

RESULTS: Half of participants experienced any menstrual cycle irregularity; the most frequent irregularities were cycle length (38.6%) and having gone 90 days or more without a menstrual period (20.4%). Pesticides were detected in 92.9% of the wristbands; most participants were exposed to an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) pesticide.

CONCLUSION: Half of Latinx children and adolescents hired farmworkers experience irregular menstrual cycles, and most are exposed to EDCs. Inclusion of occupational and menstrual histories in child and adolescent medical visits is critical.

%B J Occup Environ Med %V 63 %P 38-43 %8 2021 Jan 01 %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002065 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Ind Med %D 2021 %T Pesticide exposure among Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina. %A Thomas A Arcury %A Haiying Chen %A Arnold, Taylor J %A Sara A Quandt %A Kim A Anderson %A Richard P Scott %A Jennifer W Talton %A Daniel, Stephanie S %X

BACKGROUND: Although pesticides have adverse effects on child health and development, little research has examined pesticide exposure among child farmworkers. This analysis addresses two specific aims: (1) describes pesticide exposure among Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina, and (2) delineates factors associated with this pesticide exposure.

METHODS: In 2018 (n = 173) and 2019 (n = 156) Latinx child farmworkers completed interviews and wore silicone wristbands for a single day to measure pesticide exposure. Wristbands were analyzed for 70 pesticides.

RESULTS: Most Latinx child farmworkers were exposed to multiple pesticides; the most frequent were pyrethroids (69.9% in 2018, 67.9% in 2019), organochlorines (51.4% in 2018, 55.1% in 2019), and organophosphates (51.4% in 2018, 34.0% in 2019). Children were exposed to a mean of 2.15 pesticide classes in 2018 and 1.91 in 2019, and to a mean of 4.06 pesticides in 2018 and 3.34 in 2019. Younger children (≤15 years) had more detections than older children; children not currently engaged in farm work had more detections than children currently engaged in farm work. Migrant child farmworkers had more detections than nonmigrants. For specific pesticides with at least 20 detections, detections and concentrations were generally greater among children not currently engaged in farm work than children currently engaged.

CONCLUSIONS: Children who live in farmworker communities are exposed to a plethora of pesticides. Although further research is needed to document the extent of pesticide exposure and its health consequences, sufficient information is available to inform the policy needed to eliminate this pesticide exposure in agricultural communities.

%B Am J Ind Med %8 2021 May 25 %G eng %R 10.1002/ajim.23258 %0 Journal Article %J Sci Total Environ %D 2020 %T Pesticide exposure among Latinx children: Comparison of children in rural, farmworker and urban, non-farmworker communities. %A Thomas A Arcury %A Haiying Chen %A Sara A Quandt %A Jennifer W Talton %A Kim A Anderson %A Richard P Scott %A Jensen, Anna %A Paul J Laurienti %X

Personal pesticide exposure is not well characterized among children in vulnerable, immigrant communities. We used silicone wristbands in 2018-2019 to assess pesticide exposure in 8 year old Latinx boys and girls in rural, farmworker families (n = 73) and urban, non-farmworker families (n = 60) living in North Carolina who were enrolled in the PACE5 Study, a community-based participatory research study. We determined the detection and concentrations (ng/g) of 75 pesticides and pesticide degradation products in the silicone wristbands worn for one week using gas chromatography electron capture detection and employed gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Differences by personal and family characteristics were tested using analysis of variance or Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests when necessary. Pesticide concentrations above the limit of detection were analyzed, and reported as geometric means and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The most frequently detected pesticide classes were organochlorines (85.7%), pyrethroids (65.4%), and organophosphates (59.4%), with the most frequently detected specific pesticides being alpha-chlordane (69.2%), trans-nonachlor (67.7%), gamma-chlordane (66.2%), chlorpyrifos (54.9%), cypermethrin (49.6%), and trans-permethrin (39.1%). More of those children in urban, non-farmworker families had detections of organochlorines (93.3% vs. 79.5, p = 0.0228) and pyrethroids (75.0% vs. 57.5%, p = 0.0351) than did those in rural, farmworker families; more children in rural, farmworker families had detections for organophosphates (71.2% vs. 45.0%, p= 0.0022). Children in urban, non-farmworker families had greater concentrations of alpha-chlordane (geometric mean (GM) 18.98, 95% CI 14.14, 25.47 vs. 10.25, 95% CI 7.49, 14.03; p= 0.0055) and dieldrin (GM 17.38, 95% CI 12.78 23.62 vs. 8.10, 95% CI 5.47, 12.00; p= 0.0034) than did children in rural, farmworker families. These results support the position that pesticides are ubiquitous in the living environment for children in vulnerable, immigrant communities, and argue for greater effort in documenting the widespread nature of pesticide exposure among children, with greater effort to reduce pesticide exposure.

%B Sci Total Environ %V 763 %P 144233 %8 2020 Dec 29 %G eng %R 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144233 %0 Audiovisual Material %D 2018 %T Applications of Passive Silicone Wristband Samplers: Childhood Para-Occupational Exposures to Pesticide Mixtures %A Carolyn M Poutasse %A Thomas A Arcury %A Sara A Quandt %A Paul J Laurienti %A Kim A Anderson %B 3rd Tribal Environmental Health Summit, Corvallis, OR %8 06/2018 %G eng %0 Audiovisual Material %D 2017 %T Applications of Passive Silicone Wristband Samplers: Childhood Para-Occupational Exposures to Pesticide Mixtures %A Carolyn M Poutasse %A Thomas A Arcury %A Sara A Quandt %A Paul J Laurienti %A Kim A Anderson %B 27th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Science, Research Triangle Park, NC %8 10/2017 %G eng