Pesticide use and myocardial infarction incidence among farm women in the agricultural health study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between pesticide use and myocardial infarction (MI) among farm women. BACKGROUND Little is known about the potential association between pesticide use and cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS We used logistic regression to evaluate pesticide use and self-reported incident nonfatal MI among women in the Agricultural Health Study. RESULTS Of those MI-free at enrollment (n = 22,425), 168 reported an MI after enrollment. We saw no association with pesticide use overall. Six of 27 individual pesticides evaluated were significantly associated with nonfatal MI, including chlorpyrifos, coumaphos, carbofuran, metalaxyl, pendimethalin, and trifluralin, which all had odds ratios >1.7. These chemicals were used by <10% of the cases, and their use was correlated, making it difficult to attribute the risk elevation to a specific pesticide. CONCLUSION Pesticides may contribute to MI risk among farm women.