Skip to main content
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 2001 Aug;109(8):839–844. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109839

Neuropsychologic effects of long-term exposure to pesticides: results from the French Phytoner study.

I Baldi 1, L Filleul 1, B Mohammed-Brahim 1, C Fabrigoule 1, J F Dartigues 1, S Schwall 1, J P Drevet 1, R Salamon 1, P Brochard 1
PMCID: PMC1240413  PMID: 11564621

Abstract

The Phytoner study investigated a possible association between neuropsychologic performances and long-term exposure to pesticides in Bordeaux vineyard workers, most of whom use fungicides. Among the 917 subjects interviewed from February 1997 to August 1998, 528 were directly exposed to pesticides through mixing and/or spraying (mean exposure duration: 22 years), 173 were indirectly exposed through contact with treated plants, and 216 were never exposed. All subjects performed neuropsychologic tests administered at home by trained psychologists. The risk of scoring a low performance on the tests was constantly higher in exposed subjects. When taking into account educational level, age, sex, alcohol consumption, smoking, environmental exposures, and depressive symptoms and when restricting analysis to subgroups, results remained significant for most tests, with odds ratios (OR) exceeding 2. These results point to long-term cognitive effects of low-level exposure to pesticides in occupational conditions. Given the frequency of pesticide use and the potential disabilities resulting from cognitive impairments, further toxicologic and epidemiologic research is needed to confirm these results and assess the impact on public health.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (64.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ames R. G., Steenland K., Jenkins B., Chrislip D., Russo J. Chronic neurologic sequelae to cholinesterase inhibition among agricultural pesticide applicators. Arch Environ Health. 1995 Nov-Dec;50(6):440–444. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1995.9935980. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baldi I., Brochard P., Mohammed-Brahim B., Rolland P., Salamon R. Méthodes d'estimation rétrospective de l'exposition professionnelle aux pesticides. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique. 1999 Apr;47(2):165–174. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bosma H., van Boxtel M. P., Ponds R. W., Houx P. J., Jolles J. Pesticide exposure and risk of mild cognitive dysfunction. Lancet. 2000 Sep 9;356(9233):912–913. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02685-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Checkoway H., Nelson L. M. Epidemiologic approaches to the study of Parkinson's disease etiology. Epidemiology. 1999 May;10(3):327–336. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cole D. C., Carpio F., Julian J., Leon N., Carbotte R., De Almeida H. Neurobehavioral outcomes among farm and nonfarm rural Ecuadorians. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 1997 Jul-Aug;19(4):277–286. doi: 10.1016/s0892-0362(97)00019-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Daniell W., Barnhart S., Demers P., Costa L. G., Eaton D. L., Miller M., Rosenstock L. Neuropsychological performance among agricultural pesticide applicators. Environ Res. 1992 Oct;59(1):217–228. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80241-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dartigues J. F., Commenges D., Letenneur D., Barberger-Gateau P., Gilleron V., Fabrigoule C., Mazaux J. M., Orgogozo J. M., Salamon R. Cognitive predictors of dementia in elderly community residents. Neuroepidemiology. 1997;16(1):29–39. doi: 10.1159/000109668. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dartigues J. F., Gagnon M., Letenneur L., Barberger-Gateau P., Commenges D., Evaldre M., Salamon R. Principal lifetime occupation and cognitive impairment in a French elderly cohort (Paquid). Am J Epidemiol. 1992 May 1;135(9):981–988. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dartigues J. F., Gagnon M., Mazaux J. M., Barberger-Gateau P., Commenges D., Letenneur L., Orgogozo J. M. Occupation during life and memory performance in nondemented French elderly community residents. Neurology. 1992 Sep;42(9):1697–1701. doi: 10.1212/wnl.42.9.1697. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fabrigoule C., Rouch I., Taberly A., Letenneur L., Commenges D., Mazaux J. M., Orgogozo J. M., Dartigues J. F. Cognitive process in preclinical phase of dementia. Brain. 1998 Jan;121(Pt 1):135–141. doi: 10.1093/brain/121.1.135. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Fiedler N., Kipen H., Kelly-McNeil K., Fenske R. Long-term use of organophosphates and neuropsychological performance. Am J Ind Med. 1997 Nov;32(5):487–496. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199711)32:5<487::aid-ajim8>3.0.co;2-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Folstein M. F., Folstein S. E., McHugh P. R. "Mini-mental state". A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189–198. doi: 10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Isaacs B., Kennie A. T. The Set test as an aid to the detection of dementia in old people. Br J Psychiatry. 1973 Oct;123(575):467–470. doi: 10.1192/bjp.123.4.467. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Letenneur L., Gilleron V., Commenges D., Helmer C., Orgogozo J. M., Dartigues J. F. Are sex and educational level independent predictors of dementia and Alzheimer's disease? Incidence data from the PAQUID project. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1999 Feb;66(2):177–183. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.66.2.177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Maroni M., Fait A. Health effects in man from long-term exposure to pesticides. A review of the 1975-1991 literature. Toxicology. 1993 Mar;78(1-3):1–180. doi: 10.1016/0300-483x(93)90227-j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Orgogozo J. M., Dartigues J. F., Lafont S., Letenneur L., Commenges D., Salamon R., Renaud S., Breteler M. B. Wine consumption and dementia in the elderly: a prospective community study in the Bordeaux area. Rev Neurol (Paris) 1997 Apr;153(3):185–192. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Rosenstock L., Daniell W., Barnhart S., Schwartz D., Demers P. A. Chronic neuropsychological sequelae of occupational exposure to organophosphate insecticides. Am J Ind Med. 1990;18(3):321–325. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700180313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rosenstock L., Keifer M., Daniell W. E., McConnell R., Claypoole K. Chronic central nervous system effects of acute organophosphate pesticide intoxication. The Pesticide Health Effects Study Group. Lancet. 1991 Jul 27;338(8761):223–227. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)90356-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Savage E. P., Keefe T. J., Mounce L. M., Heaton R. K., Lewis J. A., Burcar P. J. Chronic neurological sequelae of acute organophosphate pesticide poisoning. Arch Environ Health. 1988 Jan-Feb;43(1):38–45. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1988.9934372. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Steenland K., Jenkins B., Ames R. G., O'Malley M., Chrislip D., Russo J. Chronic neurological sequelae to organophosphate pesticide poisoning. Am J Public Health. 1994 May;84(5):731–736. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.5.731. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Stephens R., Spurgeon A., Calvert I. A., Beach J., Levy L. S., Berry H., Harrington J. M. Neuropsychological effects of long-term exposure to organophosphates in sheep dip. Lancet. 1995 May 6;345(8958):1135–1139. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)90976-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES