{"id":38625,"date":"2025-06-04T00:01:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T04:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=38625"},"modified":"2025-06-02T13:57:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T17:57:57","slug":"hypertension-and-high-blood-pressure-linked-to-pesticide-metabolites-in-elderly-according-to-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2025\/06\/hypertension-and-high-blood-pressure-linked-to-pesticide-metabolites-in-elderly-according-to-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Hypertension and High Blood Pressure Linked to Pesticide Metabolites in Elderly, According to Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, June 4, 2025) A new study published in Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology<\/em><\/a> finds that \u201chigher pesticide exposure was significantly associated with elevated blood pressure and greater risks of hypertension.\u201d More specifically, \u201c[t]he results indicated that exposure to PNP [para-nitrophenol\/parathion<\/a>] and 2,4-D<\/a> may contribute to an increased risk of hypertension.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC<\/a>), roughly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, which can lead to increased risk for stroke and heart disease, two of the top causes of mortality in the nation. Amid worsening public health concerns, with young generations facing an increase in heart failure (see here<\/a> for the Duke University School of Medicine analysis), advocates continue to call for the transformation of the food system, including increased access and production of whole-based organic food.<\/p>\n

Background Information and Methodology<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The authors of this community-based, case-control study are researchers at the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the School of Public Health at Southern Medical University, both located in Guangzhou, China. The study included 360 participants, consisting of 180 hypertension cases and 180 non-cases (\u201cnormotensive individuals\u201d) within China\u2019s National Essential Public Health Services Program. All participants were over 75 years of age. The Ethics Committee of the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention approved the parameters of this study.<\/em><\/p>\n

This study tested for eight urinary pesticide metabolites, including two organophosphates\u2014parathion and chlorpyrifos<\/a> (Para-nitrophenol and 3,5,6-Trichloro-2-pyridinol [TCPY]); four pyrethroids\u2014fluvalinate<\/a>, cypermethrin<\/a>, and permethrin<\/a> (3-Phenoxybenzoic acid [3-PBA], 4-Fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic acid [4F-3PBA], cis-3-(2,2-Dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid [cis-DCCA], and trans-3-(2,2-Dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid [trans-DCCA]; and two phenoxyacid herbicides\u2014(2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid [2,4-D]and 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid [2,4,5-T]).<\/p>\n

\u201cMultivariate linear regression and logistic regression were used to evaluate the associations between pesticide metabolites and blood pressure and hypertension, respectively,\u201d say the study authors on their approach to the statistical analysis. They continue: \u201cThe Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) was used to assess the joint effects of pesticide metabolites on blood pressure and hypertension. We additionally applied Quantile g-computation (QGC) to validate the robustness of the results obtained from the BKMR analysis.\u201d For further details, see Section 2.4 for the breakdown of various models employed for statistical analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n

Results Main Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The main findings can be broken down by their overall associations, sex-specific effects, metabolite mixture effects, as well as the authors\u2019 suggested biological mechanisms.<\/p>\n