Pesticide Exposure Can Increase Women’s Risk of Heart Disease

Pesticide exposure can worsen the impact of obesity in premenopausal women and contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and inflammation, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Xenoestrogens—environmental pollutants with hormone-like activity similar to estrogens—are present in the environment and in plastics, and people become exposed to them by ingesting contaminated foods and beverages.
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“We found that these compounds are accumulated in the adipose tissue of obese women and that xenoestrogen levels are directly associated with an aggravation of obesity-associated complications, leading to an increase in inflammation and in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” says study author Diana Teixeira, a PhD student of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Porto in Porto, Portugal.

Teixeira and her colleagues analyzed the amount of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in fat tissue and blood samples from 121 obese women who underwent bariatric surgery at S. João Hospital in Porto, Portugal. Of the participants, 73 were premenopausal and 48 were postmenopausal.

They found that premenopausal women with higher concentrations of environmental estrogens in their visceral fat tissue from the belly were more likely to have higher average blood sugar levels, more inflammation, and a greater risk of cardiovascular disease.

“For the first time it was proposed that xenoestrogen levels should be considered as biomarkers for cardiometabolic risk,” Teixeira says. “This would allow for early identification of those at risk, enabling preventive action.”
 
That includes limiting exposure to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

“Xenoestrogens are found in the plastic linings of canned goods, plastic food wrappers, detergents, herbicides, hair dyes, cosmetics, cigarette smoke, and auto exhaust,” Teixeira says. “They may even be found in the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe.”

Yet she emphasizes that despite their pervasiveness, a few simple lifestyle changes can reduce an individual’s load in these compounds. These include:

• Weight management (avoid excess weight).
• Avoiding plastics in the handling/storage of foods.
• Making dietary changes like avoiding high fatty animal foods, eating more organic food, and avoiding processed and refined foods.
• Using safe household cleansers.
• Reading health and beauty product labels.

Teixeira and her colleagues will continue to follow up on this obese population by monitoring pollutant levels (in plasma and adipose tissue depots) and metabolic profile in a holistic way.

“This research will allow us to obtain relevant data concerning gut-liver-fat and brain cross-talks in an integrative toxicological interpretation of metabolic diseases,” she says.

—Colleen Mullarkey

Reference

Teixeira D, Pestana D, Santos C, Correia-Sá L, Marques C, Norberto S, et al. Inflammatory and cardiometabolic risk on obesity: role of environmental xenoestrogens. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 8 April 2015. [Epub ahead of print].