A new study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, examined the connection between exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCP) and endometriosis risk in women.  The researchers used data from the Women’s Risk of Endometriosis study, a population-based case-control study of endometriosis conducted among 18-49 year old females in Washington. OCP concentrations were measured in sera from 248 surgically confirmed endometriosis cases first diagnosed between 1996 and 2001 and in 538 population-based controls.  Adjusting for age, reference date year, serum lipids, education, race/ethnicity, smoking, and alcohol intake, the researchers estimated risk of endometriosis.

According to an analysis of the study in Medical News Today, results of the research showed that women who had higher exposures to two OCPs, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane and mirex, had a 30-70% increased risk of endometriosis.  The study authors say they found it interesting that these types of chemicals were found in the blood samples of women from the study, despite the fact that organochlorine pesticides have been banned in the U.S. for several decades.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports that organochlorine pesticides are man-made chemicals that were used in the recent past for agricultural and household pest problems.  Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is one of the most well-known organochlorines, and it was heavily applied in agricultural regions, according to the USGS. Although these types of pesticides are no longer used in the U.S., the organization notes that they are still present in the environment.

Another study, published earlier this year and reported by Medical News Today, was considered groundbreaking because environmental health scientists discovered a link between type 2 diabetes and pesticides.  The study was significant because it could explain the significant increase in the prevalence and impact of type 2 diabetes in recent years.  Specifically, the study showed that exposure to DDT was linked with a risk of diabetes four times higher than the average.  Also, exposure to a chemical that is found in DDT was alone linked with a higher risk of developing diabetes.

The authors also pointed out that because these chemicals are concentrated in body fat, it may be an explanation for why overweight people have a higher risk of developing diabetes.  The outcomes revealed a direct link between the presence of these chemicals in the body and the development of type 2 diabetes. The link was seen across all ages, genders, and body weights.  Outside the U.S., there has also been an increase in diabetes, with 4.4 percent of the global population expected to develop diabetes by 2030.