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Prospective association between dietary pesticide exposure profiles and postmenopausal breast-cancer risk in the NutriNet-Santé cohort

Rebouillat, Pauline LU orcid ; Vidal, Rodolphe ; Cravedi, Jean-Pierre ; Taupier-Letage, Bruno ; Debrauwer, Laurent ; Gamet-Payrastre, Laurence ; Touvier, Mathilde ; Deschasaux-Tanguy, Mélanie ; Latino-Martel, Paule and Hercberg, Serge , et al. (2021) In International Journal of Epidemiology 50(4). p.1184-1198
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Some pesticides, used in large quantities in current agricultural practices all over Europe, are suspected of adverse effects on human reproductive health (breast and prostate cancers), through mechanisms of endocrine disruption and possible carcinogenic properties, as observed in agricultural settings. However, evidence on dietary pesticide exposure and breast cancer (BC) is lacking for the general population. We aimed to assess the associations between dietary exposure to pesticides and BC risk among postmenopausal women of the NutriNet-Santé cohort.

METHODS: In 2014, participants completed a self-administered semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distinguishing conventional and organic foods. Exposures to... (More)

BACKGROUND: Some pesticides, used in large quantities in current agricultural practices all over Europe, are suspected of adverse effects on human reproductive health (breast and prostate cancers), through mechanisms of endocrine disruption and possible carcinogenic properties, as observed in agricultural settings. However, evidence on dietary pesticide exposure and breast cancer (BC) is lacking for the general population. We aimed to assess the associations between dietary exposure to pesticides and BC risk among postmenopausal women of the NutriNet-Santé cohort.

METHODS: In 2014, participants completed a self-administered semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distinguishing conventional and organic foods. Exposures to 25 active substances used in EU plant-protection products were estimated using a pesticide-residue database accounting for farming practices, from Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Stuttgart, Germany. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), adapted for data with excess zeros, was used to establish exposure profiles. The four extracted NMF components' quintiles were introduced into Cox models estimating hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), adjusted for known confounding factors.

RESULTS: A total of 13 149 postmenopausal women were included in the analysis (169 BC cases, median follow-up = 4.83 years). Negative associations between Component 3, reflecting low exposure to synthetic pesticides, and postmenopausal BC risk were found [HRQ5 = 0.57; 95% CI (0.34; 0.93), p-trend = 0.006]. Positive association between Component 1 score (highly correlated to chlorpyrifos, imazalil, malathion, thiabendazole) and postmenopausal BC risk was found specifically among overweight and obese women [HRQ5 = 4.13; 95% CI (1.50; 11.44), p-trend = 0.006]. No associations were detected for the other components.

CONCLUSION: These associations suggest a potential role of dietary pesticide exposure on BC risk. Further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms and confirm these results in other populations.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Breast Neoplasms/chemically induced, Dietary Exposure, Female, Humans, Male, Pesticides/adverse effects, Postmenopause, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors
in
International Journal of Epidemiology
volume
50
issue
4
pages
1184 - 1198
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85116957919
  • pmid:33720364
ISSN
1464-3685
DOI
10.1093/ije/dyab015
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
© The Author(s) 2021; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.
id
6db454aa-4b4c-446c-a5f3-86357ae9cbeb
date added to LUP
2022-02-02 11:38:31
date last changed
2024-06-15 00:37:07
@article{6db454aa-4b4c-446c-a5f3-86357ae9cbeb,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Some pesticides, used in large quantities in current agricultural practices all over Europe, are suspected of adverse effects on human reproductive health (breast and prostate cancers), through mechanisms of endocrine disruption and possible carcinogenic properties, as observed in agricultural settings. However, evidence on dietary pesticide exposure and breast cancer (BC) is lacking for the general population. We aimed to assess the associations between dietary exposure to pesticides and BC risk among postmenopausal women of the NutriNet-Santé cohort.</p><p>METHODS: In 2014, participants completed a self-administered semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distinguishing conventional and organic foods. Exposures to 25 active substances used in EU plant-protection products were estimated using a pesticide-residue database accounting for farming practices, from Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Stuttgart, Germany. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), adapted for data with excess zeros, was used to establish exposure profiles. The four extracted NMF components' quintiles were introduced into Cox models estimating hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), adjusted for known confounding factors.</p><p>RESULTS: A total of 13 149 postmenopausal women were included in the analysis (169 BC cases, median follow-up = 4.83 years). Negative associations between Component 3, reflecting low exposure to synthetic pesticides, and postmenopausal BC risk were found [HRQ5 = 0.57; 95% CI (0.34; 0.93), p-trend = 0.006]. Positive association between Component 1 score (highly correlated to chlorpyrifos, imazalil, malathion, thiabendazole) and postmenopausal BC risk was found specifically among overweight and obese women [HRQ5 = 4.13; 95% CI (1.50; 11.44), p-trend = 0.006]. No associations were detected for the other components.</p><p>CONCLUSION: These associations suggest a potential role of dietary pesticide exposure on BC risk. Further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms and confirm these results in other populations.</p>}},
  author       = {{Rebouillat, Pauline and Vidal, Rodolphe and Cravedi, Jean-Pierre and Taupier-Letage, Bruno and Debrauwer, Laurent and Gamet-Payrastre, Laurence and Touvier, Mathilde and Deschasaux-Tanguy, Mélanie and Latino-Martel, Paule and Hercberg, Serge and Lairon, Denis and Baudry, Julia and Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle}},
  issn         = {{1464-3685}},
  keywords     = {{Breast Neoplasms/chemically induced; Dietary Exposure; Female; Humans; Male; Pesticides/adverse effects; Postmenopause; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{1184--1198}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Epidemiology}},
  title        = {{Prospective association between dietary pesticide exposure profiles and postmenopausal breast-cancer risk in the NutriNet-Santé cohort}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab015}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/ije/dyab015}},
  volume       = {{50}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}