Journal
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
Volume 156, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106744
Keywords
Pesticide residues; Cancer; Fruits and vegetables
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [U01 HL145386, R24 ES028521, UM1 CA186107, P01 CA87969, U01 CA176726, R01 HL034594, R01 HL088521, U01 CA 167552]
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The study found that overall exposure to pesticides through FV intake is not related to cancer risk, although associations with specific chemicals or sub-types of specific cancers cannot be ruled out.
Background: Conventionally grown fruits and vegetables (FVs) are the main source of general population exposure to pesticide residues. Objective: To evaluate the relation of intake of high- and low-pesticide-residue FVs with cancer risk. Methods: We followed 150,830 women (Nurses' Health Study, 1998-2016, and Nurses' Health Study II, 1999-2017) and 29,486 men (Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 1998-2016) without a history of cancer. We ascertained FV intake via validated food frequency questionnaires and categorized FVs as having high or low pesticide residue levels based on USDA surveillance data. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of total and site-specific cancer related to quintiles of highand low-pesticide-residue FV intake. Results: We documented 23,678 incident cancer cases during 2,862,118 person-years of follow-up. In the pooled multivariable analysis, neither high- nor low-pesticide-residue FV intake was associated with cancer. The HRs (95% CI) per 1 serving/day increase in intake were 0.99 (0.97-1.01) for high- and 1.01 (0.99-1.02) for lowpesticide-residue FVs. Additionally, we found no association between high-pesticide-residue FV intake and risk of specific sites, including malignancies previously linked to occupational pesticide exposure ([HR, 95% CI comparing extreme quintiles of intake] lung [1.17 (0.95-1.43)], non-Hodgkin lymphoma [0.89 (0.72-1.09)], prostate [1.31 (0.88-1.93)]) or inversely related to intake of organic foods (breasts [1.03 (0.94-1.31)]). Conclusions: These findings suggest that overall exposure to pesticides through FV intake is not related to cancer risk, although they do not rule out associations with specific chemicals or sub-types of specific cancers.
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