03
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 3, 2026) A literature review published in Chemico-Biological Interactions links pyrethroid insecticide exposure to cardiac dysfunction. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of previous research through July 2025, the authors find emerging evidence that indicates pyrethroids induce adverse cardiovascular effects through pathways of inflammation, oxidative stress, and myocardial injury (damage to the heart muscle). “The meta-analytic findings of this study offer the first comprehensive overview of the cardiotoxic effects of pyrethroids, encompassing electrophysiological, biochemical, inflammatory, and redox disturbances,” the researchers state. “Together, these findings indicate that pyrethroids disrupt cardiac electrical stability and induce cytotoxic [killing or damaging cells], inflammatory, and oxidative damage.” Study Importance Scientific literature connecting various classes of pesticides to adverse health effects continues to mount, with synthetic pyrethroids emerging as a class of increasing concern. Due to their broad spectrum of activity, pyrethroids are extensively used in agriculture and land management but can persist in the environment and can cause neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, reproductive dysfunction, and cardiovascular health implications. (See here and here.) In particular, pyrethroid exposure is associated with increased risks of developing cardiovascular disease. (See studies here, here, here, and here.) “Cardiac electrical activity is regulated by mechanisms that are highly sensitive […]
Posted in Cardiovascular Disease, Cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, fenpropathrin, Insecticides, Oxidative Stress, Permethrin, pyrethroids, synergistic effects, Synthetic Pyrethroid, tefluthrin | No Comments »
03
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 3, 2026) In analyzing the direct and indirect effects of pesticides that act simultaneously upon macrozoobenthos communities (invertebrates living in or on sediment) in standing small water bodies (SWBs) in Germany, researchers find high risks to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Published in Hydrobiologia, the experiment finds high risks to invertebrates and highlights how both direct and indirect effects are vital to comprehensive assessments of pesticides. While typically overlooked in regulatory reviews, SWBs are defined as shallow standing or running freshwaters “with a surface area of less than 50 hectares (ha),” such as lakes or ponds, including farm ponds, as well as headwater streams, springs and flushes, and ditches. SWBs are biodiversity hotspots that contribute to numerous ecosystem services and are adversely affected by agricultural land use effects such as pesticide contamination. “Holistic assessments of pesticide effects on invertebrate communities in standing small water bodies have, however, not yet been successful,” the authors note. To address this, the researchers developed an indicator for evaluating pesticide impacts on macrozoobenthos communities, populated with aquatic invertebrates, such as snails, worms, crayfish, and clams, through indirect toxic effects on aquatic plants called INPOND: INdirect Pesticide impacts ON Diversity in standing small water […]
Posted in Agriculture, Aquatic Organisms, Beneficials, Biodiversity, Chlorpyrifos, contamination, Ecosystem Services, Germany, pyraclostrobin, tefluthrin, Water | No Comments »
03
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 3, 2025) Childhood cancers are on the rise globally; in the U.S. cancer is the second most common cause of death in children between one and 14 years old, and the fourth most common in adolescents. A recent study of Nebraska pesticide use and pediatric cancer incidence by researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences found positive associations between pesticides and overall cancer, brain and central nervous system cancers, and leukemia among children (defined as under age 20). The study’s lead author, Jabeen Taiba, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will discuss the study results on December 4, 2025, at the second session of Beyond Pesticides’ 42nd National Pesticide Forum, The Pesticide Threat to Environmental Health – Advancing Holistic Solutions Aligned with Nature. The first session recordings and materials are available here. The authors’ emphasis on evaluating mixtures, and their innovative technical methods for doing so, highlight the direction environmental health research and regulation must take. Studying pesticides singly is an inadequate approach, according to the authors, because pesticides are not applied individually anymore, but very often in mixtures of herbicides, insecticides, and […]
Posted in Agriculture, California, Cancer, Children, Dicamba, Farmworkers, Glyphosate, Paraquat, Pesticide Mixtures, quizalofop, tefluthrin, triasulfuron, Uncategorized | No Comments »
