Hypospadias in offspring is associated with chronic exposure of parents to organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides

• Our aim was to evaluate the possible association between hypospadias and pesticide exposure.
• We determined pesticides in samples from children with hypospadias and their parents.
• Hypospadiac boys and their parents were found to be exposed to pesticides.
• Our data support the hypothesis that organophosphate and organochlorine pesticide exposure may be a potential risk factor for hypospadias.

We have currently evaluated the possible association between hypospadias and exposure to organophosphorus (OP) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides. For this purpose, we measured the dialkyl phosphate metabolites of organophosphate pesticides (DAPs) in the hair and blood, as well as OC pesticides (DDTs, HCHs) in the hair collected from children with hypospadias and their parents.The concentration of HCHs in the hair samples obtained from mothers was higher than that previously reported for people working in open cultivations, while the concentration of DDTs in the hair samples obtained from mothers, fathers and their children with hypospadias was much higher than that previously reported for occupationally exposed individuals. The DMP concentration in hair samples obtained from mothers was much higher not only from that reported for the general population, but even higher than that reported for occupationally exposed individuals. Furthermore, SUMDEPs and SUMDAPs in the hair samples obtained both from the hypospadiac boys, as well as from their parents were higher than the corresponding values previously reported for the general population.Our study supports the hypothesis that organophosphate and organochlorine pesticide exposure may be a potential risk factor for hypospadias.