Exposure to pesticides and the risk of hypothyroidism: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Knowledge surrounding the association between exposure to pesticides and hypothyroidism is inconsistent and controversial. METHODS: The aim of present study was, therefore, to review scientific evidence systematically and conduct a meta-analysis into the contribution of exposure to pesticides to hypothyroidism. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched. The findings are presented as OR, HR, PR, IRR, and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). A fixed-effect model using the inverse-variance method and random-effects inverse-variance model with DerSimonian-Laird method were used for estimating the pooled estimates. Cochran Q and I(2) tests were used to confirm the heterogeneity of selected studies. RESULTS: Twelve studies were included in the systematic review, and 9 studies in the meta-analysis. Epidemiological evidence suggested that exposure to insecticides including organochlorines, organophosphates, and pyrethroids increased risk of hypothyroidism (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.23, 95%CI = 1.14, 1.33 for organochlorines, aOR = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.07, 1.17 for organophosphates, aOR = 1.15, 95%CI = 1.03, 1.28 for pyrethroids). Exposure to herbicides also increased risk of hypothyroidism (aOR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.02, 1.10). However, exposure to fungicides and fumigants was not found to be associated with hypothyroidism. CONCLUSION: To increase current knowledge and confirm evidence to date future research needs to center on large-scale longitudinal epidemiological and biological studies, examination of dose–response relationships, the controlling of relevant confounding variables, using standardized and high sensitivity tools, and investigating the effects of environmental exposure. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16721-5.