Pyrethroid Pesticide Exposure and Risk of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency in Chinese Women

Pyrethroids are a class of widely used insecticides. Female animal studies suggested that pyrethroid exposure impaired ovarian function, which resulted in similar symptoms of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). However, it is still unknown whether this association applies to women. In this case-control study, a total of 172 POI patients and 247 control women were recruited in Zhejiang, China. The urinary concentrations of metabolites of pyrethroids, 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) and 4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic acid (4-F-3-PBA), as well as the serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) were determined. The associations of pyrethroid metabolites with POI and POI-related hormones were accessed using unconditional logistic regression. Higher urinary levels of 3-PBA were significantly associated with increased risk of POI [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.344, 95% CI: 1.193-4.607 for the highest vs lowest quartile of 3-PBA, p = 0.013]. Stratified analyses showed that each log increase in urinary 3-PBA concentration was significantly associated with an induction in odds of 51.0% being in the highest quartile of FSH and 28.6% being in the highest quartile of LH levels, whereas a 25.9% reduction in odds of being in the highest quartile of AMH levels (All p for trend <0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first case-control study to report an association of pyrethroid exposure with increased risk of POI in women.