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Associations between neonicotinoids metabolites and hematologic parameters among US adults in NHANES 2015–2016

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Abstract

Hematologic parameters are important indicators for monitoring the physiological changes and human health. Neonicotinoids (NEOs) exhibit toxic effects and can affect hematologic parameters. However, the effects of exposure to NEOs metabolites on hematologic parameters in the general population remain unknown. We examined the relationship between NEOs metabolites and hematologic parameters using a cross-sectional study design in 1397 adults of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015–2016. The levels of NEOs metabolites in urine and hematologic makers were measured. Multivariate linear regression models were performed to examine the relationship between exposure to NEOs metabolites and hematologic parameters. Detectable urine levels of clothianidin (CLO) was inversely associated with hematocrit (β =  − 0.689; 95% CI: − 1.335, − 0.042). Detectability of 5-hydroxy-imidacloprid (HIMI) was inversely correlated with basophil percentage (β =  − 0.093; 95% CI: − 0.180, − 0.007). N-Desmethyl-acetamiprid (NDE) was related to reduced white blood cells (WBC) (β =  − 0.419; 95% CI: − 0.764, − 0.074) and neutrophil counts (β =  − 0.349; 95% CI: − 0.623, − 0.074). Imidacloprid-equivalent total neonicotinoids (IMIeq) was negatively related to red blood cells (RBC) (β =  − 0.058; 95% CI: − 0.097, − 0.020), hemoglobin (β =  − 0.149; 95% CI: − 0.282, − 0.015), and hematocrit (β =  − 0.484; 95% CI: − 0.855, − 0.113). We also observed that exposure to NEOs metabolites was sex specifically related to hematologic alterations. For example, IMIeq was associated with reduced basophil counts (β =  − 0.016; 95% CI: − 0.028, − 0.003), basophil percentage (β =  − 0.092; 95% CI: − 0.169, − 0.016), RBC (β =  − 0.097; 95% CI: − 0.156, − 0.038), hemoglobin (β =  − 0.200; 95% CI: − 0.355, − 0.045), and hematocrit (β =  − 0.605; 95% CI: − 1.111, − 0.098) only in males. These results provide the first evidence that exposure to NEOs metabolites can disturb hematologic homeostasis in the general population, and the effects may be sex specific.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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  1. The People’s Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Academy of Medical Science, No. 6 Taoyuan Road, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China

    Chunxiu Yang

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi, China

    Jun Liang

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CY: methodology, conceptualization, analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. JL: analysis, writing—review and editing. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript and are accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Yang, C., Liang, J. Associations between neonicotinoids metabolites and hematologic parameters among US adults in NHANES 2015–2016. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 26327–26337 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23997-4

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