The relationship between urinary glyphosate and all-cause and specific-cause mortality: a prospective study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Toxicology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Glyphosate (GLY) is a widely used herbicide with increasing detection in food crops.
• Elevated GLY residues pose risks to human health and food safety.
• Understanding GLY's impact on mortality is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between urinary GLY levels and mortality in American adults.
• To identify factors influencing the relationship between GLY exposure and mortality outcomes.
• To explore potential gender and hypertension interactions with GLY and mortality.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 4740 adults.
• Utilized smooth curve fitting, generalized summation, and logistic regression models.
• Conducted subgroup analyses to examine modifying factors like gender and hypertension.

Main Results:

• A positive correlation was observed between urinary GLY and all-cause mortality.
• Each 1 ng/ml increase in urinary GLY was associated with a 40% increased risk of all-cause mortality.
• Gender significantly modified the GLY-mortality association, and hypertension modified the GLY-cancer mortality link.

Conclusions:

• Higher urinary glyphosate concentrations are associated with increased all-cause mortality.
• Gender plays a significant role in the association between glyphosate exposure and mortality.
• Glyphosate may disproportionately affect cancer mortality in individuals without hypertension.