Pesticides are materials used by farmers to help eradicate pests that have the potential to damage crops. Pesticides are usually made from chemicals, but we can also find organic pesticide products made from natural ingredients. Organic pesticides are believed to be safer, both for plants and people who consume them.

However, many studies have found that the use of chemical pesticides can have negative effects on your body. Pesticides can enter the body through food, the respiratory system, or through the skin. They can directly damage body cells and affect organs. Symptoms such as skin irritation, difficulty breathing, nausea, reproductive disorders, disorders during pregnancy, to cancer can occur if you consume food exposed to high doses of pesticides.

Not only that, according to a research report published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found that too much exposure to pesticides can increase the risk of death. Priretroid, an ingredient that is often used in pesticides, is known to be associated with a higher risk of death from any cause, particularly due to cardiovascular disease.

In their study, researchers conducted an analysis of 2,116 adult participants aged 20 years old and over whose data were collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Each participant gave their urine sample, and the sample was analysed to find information about each participant's pyrethroid exposure. After a 15-year follow-up period, 246 deaths were observed. The researchers found that people who gave urine samples with the highest levels of pyrethroid metabolites had a 56% higher risk of death from any cause. They also have higher risk of death related to heart disease when compared with those with lower exposure levels.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Shutterstock

Source(s):

• Wei B., Buyun, L., and Simonsen, D.W., (2020). Association Between Exposure to Pyrethroid Insecticides and Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in the General US Adult Population. JAMA Internal Medicine, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6019.
• Science Daily - Common pesticide linked to increased mortality risk (2020). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327415.php#1, 7 January 2020.