Organophosphorus pesticides as food chain contaminants and type 2 diabetes: a review

Recent scientific research revealed a wide variety of human health problems caused by exposure to organophosphorus pesticides (OP) considered as a major food chain contaminants. Diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes (T2D)) represents a significant chronic disease burden in most developed countries. This disease results probably from an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Other than the genetic link, a number of lifestyle behaviours and inevitable xenobiotics exposure have also been suggested as contributing factors in the development of this disease. In this article, we review the epidemiologic and experimental studies and propose biologically plausible connections between OP and diabetes type 2.