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.