The association between glyphosate exposure and metabolic syndrome among U.S. adults

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) poses a significant disease burden globally. Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the United States, and exposure is believed to adversely affect metabolic organs may contribute to MetS. Currently, the relationship between glyphosate exposure and MetS in the United States is unknown. Methods: Data was leveraged from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Urinary glyphosate was quantified as exposure. MetS was defined according to criteria from the American Heart Association. Chi-square, Analysis of Variance, and multivariable, weighted linear and logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between glyphosate and MetS. Results: A total of 338 adults were included in the final analyses. The prevalence of MetS was 19%. Continuous glyphosate was positively associated with MetS (OR = 2.24 95%CI [1.23, 4.08]). Stratification of total glyphosate into quartiles revealed increased odds of MetS among adults fourth quartiles, using the first quartile as the reference (OR = 1.17 95%CI [0.47, 2.89], OR = 1.56 95%CI [0.55, 4.55], OR = 3.29 95%CI [1.38, 7.42], for quartiles 2, 3, and 4, respectively). Conclusions: Our study represents the first investigation evaluating the relationship between general population-level glyphosate exposure and MetS prevalence. Future studies are warranted to validate these findings and to investigate mechanisms underlying these associations.