Photo credit: Helge V. Keitel

A new study from China examining the impact of pyrethroids on human health found that individuals with coronary heart disease had higher levels of pyrethroid metabolites in their urine.  The researchers looked at 72 patients with coronary heart disease and compared the level of pyrethroid metabolites in their urine to that in a control group of 136 healthy subjects. Researchers found clear evidence that average metabolite levels were higher in patients with coronary heart disease, revealing a “possible positive association between pyrethroids exposure and the risk of coronary heart disease,” according to the authors. While several studies have suggested that pyrethroids can affect the cardiovascular system, this is the first human study examining pyrethroid exposure as a risk for coronary heart disease.