Association between exposure to pesticides and toxicity in humans: a review

Pesticide use is disseminated worldwide. It plays a major role in expanding agribusiness and poses a serious threat to the health of the population through various forms of exposure (nutritional, occupational, environmental). In this review, we summarize and evaluate the scientific evidence available on toxicity and pesticides in humans.

We researched the databases of PubMed and Embase by combining a few search terms. Only studies on human beings of both sexes over 18 years of age were included, evaluating the toxicity of pesticides in human beings from 2010 to 2023. This systematic review was performed according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE). The protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with the number CRD42023408863 in April of 2023. The search strategy used to search for articles in PubMed was (("Pesticides"[Mesh]) AND "toxicity" [Subtitle]) NOT "Animals"[Mesh]).

The electronic search produced 247 potentially relevant articles based on the search in the databases (PubMed/MEDLINE=187 and EMBASE=82). After the removal of the duplicates, 241 articles were identified. Additional research (until January 15, 2024) identified 2 studies. Fifteen articles were selected for review of the full text, and 9 articles were included.

This review identified that there is no gold standard or single biomarker for exposure to agricultural pesticides that can determine their toxicity, and it is indicated that tests and associated methods, as available, should be used for a careful anamnesis. It is also strongly suggested that damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) appears as an alternative for an early biomarker of alterations of agricultural pesticides in the human body.