Associations between pyrethroid insecticide concentrations and dyslipidemia: Findings from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort

Pyrethroids are widely used insecticides worldwide, yet their effects on dyslipidemia remain incompletely understood. Our study quantified serum concentrations of seven parent pyrethroids in participants from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort and evaluated both cross-sectional and prospective associations with lipid levels and dyslipidemia. In cross-sectional analyses, higher serum concentrations of fenvalerate and deltamethrin were consistently associated with increased odds of dyslipidemia and its subtypes, including hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperbetalipoproteinemia, whereas cyfluthrin was associated with higher odds of hypertriglyceridemia. Prospective analyses revealed that higher baseline serum concentrations of fenvalerate were associated with annual increases in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as elevated risk of incident hypertriglyceridemia. Mixture analyses identified fenvalerate as an important contributor in several dyslipidemia subtype models. These findings suggest that pyrethroid exposure, particularly fenvalerate, may contribute to dyslipidemia and highlight the need for further mechanistic investigation and risk evaluation.