Urinary neonicotinoids and metabolites are associated with obesity risk in Chinese school children

Background: Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides. Laboratory studies have suggested that neonicotinoids are one potential obesogen, but relevant data are limited in human.Objective: To examine the association between exposure to neonicotinoids and childhood obesity.Methods: We investigated 442 children in Shanghai, East China and measured eight neonicotinoids (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, nitenpyram, dinotefuran, and imidaclothiz) and four metabolites (N-desmethyl-thiamethoxam, N-desmethyl-clothianidin, N-desmethyl-acetamiprid, and 5-OHimidacloprid) in urine. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were used to identify general overweight/obesity and central obesity, respectively. Linear and logistic regression models based on generalized estimating equations were used to investigate the associations of urinary neonicotinoids and metabolites with BMI z-score, WC z-score, general overweight/obesity, and central obesity.Results: Children with a positive detection of clothianidin and its metabolite had a marginally higher BMI z-score (regression coefficient (beta): 0.08, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.01, 0.14) after adjusted for relevant covariates. After creatinine-adjusted concentration was trichotomized, compared to children with a negative detection, children in the high urinary concentration of acetamiprid and its metabolite had a low BMI z-score (beta:-0.19, 95%CI:-0.30,-0.08), children in the medium urinary concentration of neonicotinoids and metabolites other than thiamethoxam, clothianidin, acetamiprid, and their metabolites had a marginally higher BMI z-score (beta: 0.25, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.46), a higher WC z-score (beta: 0.24, 95%CI: 0.14, 0.33), and a higher odds of central obesity (odds ratio (OR): 2.16, 95% CI: 1.28, 3.63), and children in the medium urinary concentration of all neonicotinoids and metabolites had a higher odds of central obesity (OR: 1.55, 95%CI: 1.04, 2.33). Some associations showed sex-and age-related differences.Conclusion: Urinary neonicotinoids and metabolites were found to be differently associated with obesity-related indexes, which suggested that exposure to neonicotinoids might have a mixed effect on childhood obesity.