Association between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and hearing loss in adolescents

Hearing loss in adolescents is a serious public health problem with a high prevalence. Pyrethroids are one of the most widely applied insecticides that have been linked to neurotoxicity. However, there is no study about the effect of pyrethroid insecticide exposure on the auditory system in the general population.

To investigate the association between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and hearing loss in adolescents in the United States.

A total of 720 adolescents aged 12-19 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2007-2010) were considered. 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), a urinary metabolite, was applied as a biomarker to assess pyrethroid exposure. Hearing loss in adolescents was defined as a pure-tone average (PTA) > 15 dB in either ear. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations of urinary 3-PBA with PTA hearing thresholds and risk of hearing loss, respectively.

The weighted geometric mean of 3-PBA levels in urine was 0.32 μg/g creatinine, and 7.62% of adolescents had hearing loss. After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, BMI, serum cotinine, annual family income and exposure to loud noise/music, linear regression analyses found that Ln-transformed 3-PBA was positively correlated with increase of hearing thresholds in either left (β = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.20-1.01) or right ear (β = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.16-0.89). Logistic regression analyses showed that adjusted odds ratio (OR) for hearing loss in adolescents with the highest tertile (≥0.52 μg/g creatinine) of 3-PBA were 3.12 (95% CI: 1.42-6.83) compared with the lowest tertile (<0.18 μg/g creatinine), with significant linear trends across tertiles.

Pyrethroid pesticide exposure was positively associated with hearing loss in U.S. adolescents. This study provides new evidence for the association between pyrethroid exposure and auditory function.