A recent study published in Environmental Research highlighted the role of maternal pesticide exposure in causing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The study aimed to determine the exposure to pesticides and the risk of GDM.

From the French nationwide Elfe cohort, a study was conducted with a total of 11,512 women. Using a toxicogenomic approach, 114 suspected pesticides were identified. Across three sources, 62 patients with a detection frequency of more than 10 were analyzed, including residential use, dietary, and agricultural. With single and multi-source adjusted logistic regression models, the association between the occurrence of GDM and exposure to pesticides was determined.

It was found that agricultural exposure (aOR=0.8, 95%CI: 0.6,1.0) and dietary exposure to glyphosate (aOR=0.6, 95%CI: 0.5,0.9) were associated with lower odds of GDM. For two dietary pesticides, the same effect was observed, which includes penconazole (aOR=0.8, 95%CI: 0.6,1.0) and epoxiconazole (aOR=0.6, 95%CI: 0.5,0.8). Higher odds of GDM were found to be associated with agricultural exposure to myclobutanil (aOR=1.4, 95%CI:1.1,1.9) and dietary exposure to cypermethrin (aOR=1.2, 95%CI:1.0,1.5). For residential use of pesticides, no association was found.