Impact of pesticides exposure and type 2 diabetes risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies that assessed the relationship between pesticides exposure and type 2 diabetes. We also examined the presence of heterogeneity and biases across the available studies.

We conducted a comprehensive literature search of peer-reviewed studies published from 2011 to 2023, without language limitations. A random-effects model was employed to calculate the overall odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).

We included 19 studies (n = 12 case-control and n = 7 cross-sectional) for a total of 45,813 participants in our analysis. Our findings revealed a notable correlation between pesticide exposure and type 2 diabetes (non-specific definition) when not limiting pesticide types (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.11–1.28). Subgroup analysis identified associations between pyrethroid (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05–1.30) and type 2 diabetes, as well as between organochlorine (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.11–1.43) and type 2 diabetes. However, no statistically significant association was observed between herbicide exposure and the onset of type 2 diabetes (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 0.91–1.75). In the elderly group, pesticide exposure significantly heightened the risk of type 2 diabetes (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.14–1.38), with no statistically significant heterogeneity among studies (I² = 14.2%, p = 0.323).

Pesticide (organochlorine and pyrethroid) exposure constitutes a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.