Pesticide use and kidney function among farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.

Background: Pesticides have been reported to be associated with malignant and non-malignant kidney disease. Few studies have examined the relationship between individual pesticides and kidney dysfunction.

Objective: We evaluated the associations of pesticide use with measured kidney function among male pesticide applicators in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA) study, a subcohort in the Agricultural Health Study.

Lifetime Pesticide Use and Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance in a Prospective Cohort of Male Farmers.

Background: Farmers have a higher incidence of multiple myeloma, and there is suggestive evidence of an elevated prevalence of its precursor, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), relative to the general population. Pesticide exposures are suspected to play a role; however, the biologic plausibility for associations with multiple myeloma remains unclear.

Objectives: Our objectives were to examine the prevalence of MGUS and evaluate associations with a wide range of pesticides in a large sample of farmers.

Pesticide exposure and incident thyroid cancer among male pesticide applicators in agricultural health study.

Background: Many pesticides are known to have thyroid-disrupting properties. However, few studies have evaluated the association between specific pesticide ingredients and risk of thyroid cancer. We investigated self-reported pesticide use and incident thyroid cancer in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), a large cohort of occupationally-exposed male pesticide applicators.

Occupational pesticide use and self-reported olfactory impairment in US farmers.

Objectives: Pesticide exposure may impair human olfaction, but empirical evidence is limited. We examined associations between occupational use of 50 specific pesticides and olfactory impairment, both self-reported, among 20 409 participants in the Agricultural Health Study, a prospective cohort of pesticide applicators (mostly farmers, 97% male).

Methods: We used logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between pesticide use at enrolment (1993-1997) and olfactory impairment reported two decades later (2013-2016), adjusting for baseline covariates.

Herbicide, fumigant, and fungicide use and breast cancer risk among farmers' wives.

Unlabelled: Evidence from epidemiologic and laboratory studies relating pesticides to breast cancer risk is inconsistent. Women engaging in agricultural work or living in agricultural areas may experience appreciable exposures to a wide range of pesticides, including herbicides, fumigants, and fungicides.

Methods: We examined exposure to herbicides, fumigants, and fungicides in relation to breast cancer risk among farmers' wives with no prior history of breast cancer in the Agricultural Health Study.

Lifetime Pesticide Use and Antinuclear Antibodies in Male Farmers From the Agricultural Health Study.

Farming and pesticide use have been associated with systemic autoimmune diseases, and while certain organochlorine insecticides and other pesticides are suspected to influence risk, the role of specific pesticides in the development of systemic autoimmunity is not known. We measured serum antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) by immunofluorescence on Hep-2 cells in 668 male farmers in the study of Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA; 2010-2013), an Agricultural Health Study (AHS) subcohort. We examined ANA in relation to lifetime use of 46 pesticides first reported at AHS enrollment (1993-1997) and updated at intervals through BEEA enrollment.

Longitudinal investigation of haematological alterations among permethrin-exposed pesticide applicators in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.

Objectives: Permethrin use has been associated with an increased risk of multiple myeloma (MM) among pesticide applicators. However, the biological plausibility and mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess whether exposure to permethrin is related to haematological alterations among occupationally exposed pesticide applicators.

High Pesticide Exposure Events and Olfactory Impairment among U.S. Farmers.

Background: Olfactory impairment (OI) is common among older adults and independently predicts all-cause mortality and the risk of several major neurodegenerative diseases. Pesticide exposure may impair olfaction, but empirical evidence is lacking.

Objective: We aimed to examine high pesticide exposure events (HPEEs) in relation to self-reported OI in participants in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS).

An algorithm for quantitatively estimating non-occupational pesticide exposure intensity for spouses in the Agricultural Health Study.

Residents of agricultural areas experience pesticide exposures from sources other than direct agricultural work. We developed a quantitative, active ingredient-specific algorithm for cumulative (adult, married lifetime) non-occupational pesticide exposure intensity for spouses of farmers who applied pesticides in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). The algorithm addressed three exposure pathways: take-home, agricultural drift, and residential pesticide use.

Factors associated with dream enacting behaviors among US farmers.

Introduction: Dream enacting behavior (DEB) during REM sleep is a characteristic feature of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), the most specific prodromal symptom for Parkinson's disease (PD) and related synucleinopathies.

Methods: We screened for DEB among 20,591 male farmers in 2013-2015 using a validated question, and examined its association with pesticide uses and other potential risk factors reported about twenty years ago in 1993-1997. We reported odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from multivariable logistic regression models.

Pesticide use and LINE-1 methylation among male private pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study.

Cancer risk may be associated with DNA methylation (DNAm) levels in Long Interspersed Nucleotide Element 1 (LINE-1), a surrogate for global DNAm. Exposure to certain pesticides may increase risk of particular cancers, perhaps mediated in part through global DNAm alterations. To date, human data on pesticide exposure and global DNAm alterations are limited.

Glyphosate Use and Cancer Incidence in the Agricultural Health Study.

Background: Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide worldwide, with both residential and agricultural uses. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans," noting strong mechanistic evidence and positive associations for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in some epidemiologic studies. A previous evaluation in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) with follow-up through 2001 found no statistically significant associations with glyphosate use and cancer at any site.

Risk of early-onset prostate cancer associated with occupation in the Nordic countries.

Background: Early-onset prostate cancer is often more aggressive and may have a different aetiology than later-onset prostate cancer, but has been relatively little studied to date. We evaluated occupation in relation to early- and later-onset prostate cancer in a large pooled study.

Methods: We used occupational information from census data in five Nordic countries from 1960 to 1990.

Industrial hog farming is associated with altered circulating immunological markers.

Objectives: The previously observed inverse association between hog farming and risk of lung cancer in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) has been attributed to endotoxin exposure, the levels of which are particularly high in industrial hog confinement facilities. We conducted an investigation to explore the potential biological mechanisms underlying this association, as well as other immunological changes associated with hog farming.

Methods: Serum immune marker levels were measured using a multiplexed bead-based assay in 61 active hog farmers and 61 controls matched on age, phlebotomy date and raising cattle.

Nonmotor symptoms and Parkinson disease in United States farmers and spouses.

Objectives: Few studies have evaluated the presence of multiple nonmotor symptoms (NMS) in relation to Parkinson disease (PD). Therefore, we examined cross-sectional associations between individual and multiple NMS and PD in the Agricultural Health Study.

Methods: 20,473 male farmers and 16,259 female spouses provided information on six NMS (reduced sense of smell, dream-enacting behavior, daytime sleepiness, infrequent bowel movement, depression, and anxiety) in the cohort's 2013-2015 follow-up survey.

Insecticide Use and Breast Cancer Risk among Farmers' Wives in the Agricultural Health Study.

Background: Some epidemiologic and laboratory studies suggest that insecticides are related to increased breast cancer risk, but the evidence is inconsistent. Women engaged in agricultural work or who reside in agricultural areas may experience appreciable exposures to a wide range of insecticides.

Objective: We examined associations between insecticide use and breast cancer incidence among wives of pesticide applicators (farmers) in the prospective Agricultural Health Study.

Occupational pesticide exposure and subclinical hypothyroidism among male pesticide applicators.

Objectives: Animal studies suggest that exposure to pesticides may alter thyroid function; however, few epidemiologic studies have examined this association. We evaluated the relationship between individual pesticides and thyroid function in 679 men enrolled in a substudy of the Agricultural Health Study, a cohort of licensed pesticide applicators.

Methods: Self-reported lifetime pesticide use was obtained at cohort enrolment (1993-1997).

Assessing the Potential for Bias From Nonresponse to a Study Follow-up Interview: An Example From the Agricultural Health Study.

Prospective cohort studies are important tools for identifying causes of disease. However, these studies are susceptible to attrition. When information collected after enrollment is through interview or exam, attrition leads to missing information for nonrespondents.

Tobacco Use and Cancer Risk in the Agricultural Health Study.

Cigarettes are well known to cause cancer, but less is known about the risks of other tobacco products and use of more than one product. We examined cancer incidence in relation to exclusive use of six tobacco products [cigarettes, other combustibles (pipe, cigar, cigarillo), and smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco, snuff)] in the Agricultural Health Study. We also examined the added cancer risks associated with use of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

High pesticide exposure events and DNA methylation among pesticide applicators in the agricultural health study.

Pesticide exposure has been associated with acute and chronic adverse health effects. DNA methylation (DNAm) may mediate these effects. We evaluated the association between experiencing unusually high pesticide exposure events (HPEEs) and DNAm among pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), a prospective study of applicators from Iowa and North Carolina.

Sex Steroid Hormone Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Pesticide Use, and the Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Nested Case-Control Study within the Agricultural Health Study.

Experimental and epidemiologic investigations suggest that certain pesticides may alter sex steroid hormone synthesis, metabolism or regulation, and the risk of hormone-related cancers. Here, we evaluated whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involved in hormone homeostasis alter the effect of pesticide exposure on prostate cancer risk. We evaluated pesticide-SNP interactions between 39 pesticides and SNPs with respect to prostate cancer among 776 cases and 1,444 controls nested in the Agricultural Health Study cohort.

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Agricultural Health Study Spouses: Associations with Pesticides and Other Farm Exposures.

Background: Farming has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the role of pesticides is not known.

Objectives: We examined associations between RA and pesticides or other agricultural exposures among female spouses of licensed pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study.

Methods: Women were enrolled between 1993 and 1997 and followed through 2010.

Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, Diabetes, and Risk of Liver Cancer for U.S. Adults.

Incidence rates for liver cancer have increased 3-fold since the mid-1970s in the United States in parallel with increasing trends for obesity and type II diabetes mellitus. We conducted an analysis of baseline body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and type II diabetes mellitus with risk of liver cancer. The Liver Cancer Pooling Project maintains harmonized data from 1.

Relative Contributions of Agricultural Drift, Para-Occupational, and Residential Use Exposure Pathways to House Dust Pesticide Concentrations: Meta-Regression of Published Data.

Background: Increased pesticide concentrations in house dust in agricultural areas have been attributed to several exposure pathways, including agricultural drift, para-occupational, and residential use.

Objective: To guide future exposure assessment efforts, we quantified relative contributions of these pathways using meta-regression models of published data on dust pesticide concentrations.

Methods: From studies in North American agricultural areas published from 1995 to 2015, we abstracted dust pesticide concentrations reported as summary statistics [e.

Occupational Exposure to Pesticides and the Incidence of Lung Cancer in the Agricultural Health Study.

Background: Occupational pesticide use is associated with lung cancer in some, but not all, epidemiologic studies. In the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), we previously reported positive associations between several pesticides and lung cancer incidence.

Objective: We evaluated use of 43 pesticides and 654 lung cancer cases after 10 years of additional follow-up in the AHS, a prospective cohort study comprising 57,310 pesticide applicators from Iowa and North Carolina.