Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Apr 11;115(4):394-404.
doi: 10.1093/jnci/djac242.

Glyphosate exposure and urinary oxidative stress biomarkers in the Agricultural Health Study

Vicky C Chang  1 , Gabriella Andreotti  1 , Maria Ospina  2 , Christine G Parks  3 , Danping Liu  4 , Joseph J Shearer  5 , Nathaniel Rothman  1 , Debra T Silverman  1 , Dale P Sandler  3 , Antonia M Calafat  2 , Laura E Beane Freeman  1 , Jonathan N Hofmann  1
Affiliations

Glyphosate exposure and urinary oxidative stress biomarkers in the Agricultural Health Study

Vicky C Chang et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. .

Abstract

Background: Glyphosate is the most widely applied herbicide worldwide, and its use has been associated with increased risks of certain hematopoietic cancers in epidemiologic studies. Animal and in vitro experiments suggest that glyphosate may induce oxidative stress, a key characteristic of carcinogens; however, evidence in human populations remains scarce. We investigated associations between glyphosate exposure and urinary oxidative stress biomarkers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study, a molecular epidemiologic subcohort in the Agricultural Health Study.

Methods: This analysis included 268 male farmers selected based on self-reported recent and lifetime occupational glyphosate use and 100 age- and geography-matched male nonfarmers. Concentrations of glyphosate and oxidative stress biomarkers (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG], 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α, and malondialdehyde [MDA]) were quantified in first-morning-void urine. We performed multivariable linear regression to evaluate associations of urinary glyphosate and self-reported glyphosate use with each oxidative stress biomarker.

Results: Urinary glyphosate concentrations were positively associated with levels of 8-OHdG (highest vs lowest glyphosate quartile; geometric mean ratio = 1.15, 95% confidence interval = 1.03 to 1.28; Ptrend = .02) and MDA (geometric mean ratio = 1.20, 95% confidence interval = 1.03 to 1.40; Ptrend = .06) overall. Among farmers reporting recent glyphosate use (last 7 days), use in the previous day was also associated with statistically significantly increased 8-OHdG and MDA levels. Compared with nonfarmers, we observed elevated 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α levels among farmers with recent, high past 12-month, or high lifetime glyphosate use.

Conclusions: Our findings contribute to the weight of evidence supporting an association between glyphosate exposure and oxidative stress in humans and may inform evaluations of the carcinogenic potential of this herbicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Box and whisker plots of urinary (A) 8-OHdG, (B) 8-isoprostane, and (C) MDA concentrations across quartiles of urinary glyphosate concentration among all 368 participants (quartile 1 = <LOD-0.289 µg/L; quartile 2 = 0.290-0.506 µg/L; quartile 3 = 0.507-0.933 µg/L; quartile 4 = 0.934-35.2 µg/L). The top and bottom edges of the boxes represent the upper (75th percentile) and lower (25th percentile) quartiles of the oxidative stress biomarker, respectively, and the whiskers above and below the boxes indicate the range of the data that lie within 1.5 times the IQR (ie, 1.5 IQR above the 75th percentile for the upper whisker and the minimum observed value for the lower whisker). The thick horizontal lines represent the median, and the solid circles represent the geometric mean concentration of the oxidative stress biomarker. For ease of visualization, the y-axis was truncated at a value of 3 IQRs above the 75th percentile for each oxidative stress biomarker. 8-isoprostane = 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α; 8-OHdG = 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine; IQR = interquartile range; LOD = limit of detection; MDA = malondialdehyde.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Benbrook CM. Trends in glyphosate herbicide use in the United States and globally. Environ Sci Eur. 2016;28(1):3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Atwood D, Paisley-Jones C.. Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage: 2008–2012 Market Estimates. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 2017.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 2013-2014 data documentation, codebook, and frequencies: glyphosate (GLYP) - urine (SSGLYP_H). 2022. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/Nchs/Nhanes/2013-2014/SSGLYP_H.htm. Accessed July 29, 2022.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National report on human exposure to environmental chemicals: what’s new? urinary glyphosate (N-(Phosphonomethyl)glycine) data tables. 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/whats_new_071922_1.html. Accessed July 29, 2022.
    1. Conrad A, Schröter-Kermani C, Hoppe HW, et al.Glyphosate in German adults - time trend (2001 to 2015) of human exposure to a widely used herbicide. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2017;220(1):8-16. - PubMed

Publication types