Exposure to pesticides may aggressively increase your risk of developing a deadly neurodegenerative disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, destroys motor neurons — the nerve cells that connect the brain and spinal cord to muscles. Over time, people with ALS lose control of muscles throughout the body, affecting speech, eating and breathing.
While global pesticide use has risen steadily over the past three decades, so have cases of ALS. About 35,000 people in the US have ALS.
The disease is fatal and health decline can happen quickly. As many as 80% of people with ALS survive less than five years after diagnosis.
However, scientists still don’t know exactly what causes ALS, though they’ve been looking into pesticides as a possible risk factor since the 1980‘s.
Now, a new study adds to the growing evidence that these chemicals may play a role.
Researchers looked at data from ALS studies conducted around the world over the last 35 years.
They found that occupational exposure to pesticides was associated with a 61% to 71% higher risk of developing ALS compared to people who weren’t exposed. They also found that the greater a person’s pesticide exposure, the higher their risk of developing ALS.
The association was especially strong in men, who were twice as likely to develop ALS if they had been exposed to pesticides on the job.
What pesticides do to our nervous system
Pesticides are a broad group of chemicals designed to control everything from weeds (herbicides) and insects (insecticides) to rodents (rodenticides) and fungi (fungicides).
In the US, overall pesticide use has declined since the 1980s. But globally, pesticide use has never been higher.
Growing populations require more crops and pesticides are cheaper to come by.
And while overall pesticide use is down in the US, herbicide use is rising. Herbicides were among the categories of pesticides most strongly associated with ALS in this new study.
Glyphosate, the weed killer sold under the brand name Roundup, is the most widely used herbicide in the country.
Research suggests glyphosate can disrupt communication between neurons and trigger inflammation in the brain and spinal cord, which can lead to neuron death and motor dysfunction Glyphosate — all hallmarks of ALS.
Atrazine is the second most commonly used herbicide. It has also been linked to Parkinson’s Disease, another neurodegenerative disorder.
These are just two of the dozens of chemicals used to control animal and plant pests and each affects the human body differently.
Pesticides on the job
Researchers emphasized that the new study looked at people who were exposed to pesticides at work, where they may absorb high doses over short periods of time, primarily through their skin or by breathing in the chemicals.
Farmworkers of all kinds — from harvesters and pesticide mixers to greenhouse employees and warehouse workers who pack and ship produce — are regularly exposed to pesticides.
They can come into contact with pesticide residue on plants, contaminated water or airborne chemicals when pesticides drift during spraying.
And ALS isn’t the only concern.
Research has linked higher pesticide exposure to blood disorders, respiratory illnesses, endocrine dysfunction, nervous system damage, infertility and certain types of cancer.
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