Maternal exposure to DDT, DDE, and pyrethroid insecticides for malaria vector control and hypospadias in the VHEMBE birth cohort study, Limpopo, South Africa

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Bornman, Maria S. (Riana)
dc.contributor.author Acerini, Carlo L.
dc.contributor.author Chevrier, Jonathan
dc.contributor.author Rauch, Stephen A.
dc.contributor.author Crause, Madelein
dc.contributor.author Obida, Muvhulawa
dc.contributor.author Eskenazi, Brenda
dc.date.accessioned 2023-07-10T13:18:00Z
dc.date.available 2023-07-10T13:18:00Z
dc.date.issued 2022-11
dc.description.abstract Hypospadias is the ectopic opening of the urethra on the penis or scrotum. Exposure to estrogenic and/or anti-androgenic chemicals in utero may play an etiologic role. DDT and the pyrethroids cypermethrin and deltamethrin, are used to control malaria. DDT is estrogenic and its breakdown product DDE is anti-androgenic; cypermethrin and deltamethrin can also disrupt androgen pathways. We examined the relationship between maternal exposure to these insecticides during pregnancy and hypospadias among boys participating in the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment (VHEMBE) in Limpopo Province, South Africa. We measured peripartum levels of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE in maternal serum and urinary pyrethroid metabolites. We conducted urogenital examination on 359 one-year-old boys. A total of 291 (81.0 %) had phimosis, which prevented full urogenital examination, leaving a final sample of 68 boys for determination of the presence of hypospadias. Diagnosis was based on concordance of two independent physicians. We identified hypospadias in 23 of the 68 boys (34 %). Maternal urinary concentrations of cis-DCCA and trans-DCCA metabolites of cypermethrin and other pyrethroids, were associated with an increased risk for hypospadias, but the other metabolite 3-PBA was not (adjusted relative risk per 10-fold increase = 1.58, 95 % CI 1.07–2.34; 1.61, 95 % CI 1.09–2.36; and 1.48, 95 % CI 0.78–2.78, respectively). No associations were found between p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE, 3-PBA or cis-DBCA and hypospadias. We observed a high prevalence of hypospadias among boys without phymosis. Boys with higher prenatal exposure to pyrethroid insecticides were at higher risk of hypospadias. Our findings may have global implications given that pyrethroid insecticides are widely used for malaria control, in agriculture and for home use. en_US
dc.description.department School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) en_US
dc.description.department UP Centre for Sustainable Malaria Control (UP CSMC) en_US
dc.description.librarian hj2023 en_US
dc.description.uri http://www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv en_US
dc.identifier.citation Bornman, R., Acerini, C.L., Chevrier, J. et al. 2022, 'Maternal exposure to DDT, DDE, and pyrethroid insecticides for malaria vector control and hypospadias in the VHEMBE birth cohort study, Limpopo, South Africa', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 845, art. 157084, pp. 1-7, doi : 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157084. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0048-9697 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1879-1026 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157084
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/91323
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Elsevier en_US
dc.rights © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). en_US
dc.subject Hypospadias en_US
dc.subject Urogenital en_US
dc.subject Insecticides en_US
dc.subject Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) en_US
dc.subject Pyrethroid en_US
dc.subject South Africa (SA) en_US
dc.subject Indoor residual spraying (IRS) en_US
dc.subject Venda health examination of mothers, babies and their environment (VHEMBE) en_US
dc.subject Limpopo Province, South Africa en_US
dc.subject SDG-03: Good health and well-being en_US
dc.subject Malaria en_US
dc.title Maternal exposure to DDT, DDE, and pyrethroid insecticides for malaria vector control and hypospadias in the VHEMBE birth cohort study, Limpopo, South Africa en_US
dc.type Article en_US


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record