Consumption of pesticides treated fruits and vegetables linked with reduced fertility in women

Regular dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables treated with pesticides is linked to lower probability of live births and success rates of ARTs according to a study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published October 30, 2017 in JAMA.

Animal exposure to pesticides at environmentally relevant concentrations is known to decrease the number of live births. Whether this holds good for humans is topic for research in recent years, the effects of high dose exposure causing reproductive injuries is already known.

More than 600 different pesticides chemicals, resulting into 1000s of combinations are available in US market with more than 450 kg applied every year.

Occupational exposure to high dose of some older pesticides are known to cause reproductive injury in exposed males causing infertility and azoospermia.

This prospective epidemiological study uses sophisticated biological markers to identify the effects of subclinical everyday exposure pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables on female fertility.

The study recruited 325 women undergoing infertility treatment as part of the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) study. The women filled out study questionnaire about the daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. Women’s exposure to pesticides was calculated based on US government database of average pesticide residues on fresh fruits and vegetables.

The study found that women who ate more than two servings (2.3) of high-pesticide fruits or vegetables each day, compared with women who ate an average of one each day, were 18% less likely to become pregnant and 26% less likely to have a live birth than women with the lowest exposure.

If you can exchange one high-pesticide fruit or vegetable a day for a low-pesticide one, your odds of pregnancy are increased by 79% and live birth by 88% say the researchers.

Strawberries, spinach and peppers, tend to consistently make into the list of ‘dirty dozen’, a list of 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables, while others, like peas and avocados, rank lower.

Jorge Chavarro, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study, said that women trying to conceive may want to limit their intake of high-pesticide fruits and vegetables or eat organic versions, or choose low-pesticide produce such as avocados, onions, or oranges. “I am now more willing to buy organic apples than I was a few months ago,” he told TIME.

When the researchers modeled the effect of swapping one high-pesticide fruit or vegetable a day for a low-pesticide one, they found 79% higher odds of pregnancy and 88% higher odds of a live birth.

Dr. Yu-Han Chiu, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and first author of the study told CNN "Although we did find that intake of high-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables were associated to lower reproductive success, intake of low-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables had the opposite association."

The researchers agree that the study just show an ‘association’ and more work is needed before a direct ‘causation’ can be established. Also, the results pertain to certain subset of women who already had reproductive issues and were seeking fertility treatment.

The study is accompanied by a commentary by Philip J. Landrigan titled

Pesticides and Human Reproduction

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Source: CNN

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