The Silent Burden: Chronic Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides and Depression in Farmers

How Chronic Organophosphorus Exposure May Contribute to Depression?The biological plausibility of this association is increasingly supported by experimental and epidemiological research.While inhibition of acetylcholinesterase remains the hallmark of acute OP toxicity, chronic exposure appears to affect multiple molecular pathways.Experimental studies have demonstrated that prolonged exposure induces oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, disruption of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission, impaired synaptic plasticity, and neuronal apoptosis.These alterations are recognized contributors to the development of mood disorders, including depression.Such findings suggest that chronic organophosphorus pesticide exposure may have consequences extending far beyond acute cholinergic toxicity.3