Population-based urinary pesticide biomonitoring in rural Wisconsin: Longitudinal patterns and determinants of glyphosate, AMPA, and 2,4-D, and other modern use pesticides
- 1Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Madison-Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Abstract
BackgroundPopulation-based biomonitoring of contemporary-use pesticides remains limited in the United States, particularly in rural agricultural regions, and few studies have repeated measurements within the same individuals over time.
MethodsWe analyzed 28 urinary pesticide-related biomarkers among 600 adults from the population-based Survey of the Health of Wisconsin with archived urine collected during 2008-2016; 296 participants provided repeat urine and updated exposure information in 2025. Detection frequencies, co-detection, and within-person detection patterns were characterized. Generalized estimating equations were used for stacked, repeated-measures analyses of factors associated with detection of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), glyphosate, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and any of these three. Prospective-only analyses evaluated more detailed agricultural and recent exposure measures.
ResultsGlyphosate, AMPA, and 2,4-D were detected in 7.7%, 6.2%, and 4.3% of retrospective specimens and 5.4%, 3.1%, and 4.1% of prospective specimens, respectively. Co-detection and persistent detection across the 9-17-year interval was rare. In repeated-measures models, greater fruit and vegetable intake, older age, and male sex were associated with higher 2,4-D detection. Lower household income was associated with lower AMPA detection, while afternoon/evening collection was associated with higher AMPA detection. In prospective analyses, working on field-crop agricultural land showed the strongest agricultural associations, particularly for 2,4-D and detection of any of the three pesticides. Associations were not seen with self-reported conventional versus organic produce consumption.
ConclusionsUrinary pesticide detections were generally infrequent in this Wisconsin population. Diet and direct agricultural activities may be more informative exposure pathways than residing near cropland or private well drinking-water characteristics.
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BibTeX
@misc{schultz2026populationbased,
title = {{Population-based urinary pesticide biomonitoring in rural Wisconsin: Longitudinal patterns and determinants of glyphosate, AMPA, and 2,4-D, and other modern use pesticides}},
author = {A. A. Schultz and M. Lange and B. Shelton and E. Meinholz and D. Esselman and E. Paulsen and A. Haban and V. Kesner and M. Rowe and R. Burke and C. Tisler and C. Tomasallo},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.26.26361410},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.26361410v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Population-based urinary pesticide biomonitoring in rural Wisconsin: Longitudinal patterns and determinants of glyphosate, AMPA, and 2,4-D, and other modern use pesticides
AU - A. A. Schultz
AU - M. Lange
AU - B. Shelton
AU - E. Meinholz
AU - D. Esselman
AU - E. Paulsen
AU - A. Haban
AU - V. Kesner
AU - M. Rowe
AU - R. Burke
AU - C. Tisler
AU - C. Tomasallo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/26
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.26.26361410
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.26361410v1
AB - BackgroundPopulation-based biomonitoring of contemporary-use pesticides remains limited in the United States, particularly in rural agricultural regions, and few studies have repeated measurements within the same individuals over time. MethodsWe analyzed 28 urinary pesticide-related biomarkers among 600 adults from the population-based Survey of the Health of Wisconsin with archived urine collected during 2008-2016; 296 participants provided repeat urine and updated exposure information in 2025. Detection frequencies, co-detection, and within-person detection patterns were characterized. Generalized estimating equations were used for stacked, repeated-measures analyses of factors associated with detection of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), glyphosate, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and any of these three. Prospective-only analyses evaluated more detailed agricultural and recent exposure measures. ResultsGlyphosate, AMPA, and 2,4-D were detected in 7.7%, 6.2%, and 4.3% of retrospective specimens and 5.4%, 3.1%, and 4.1% of prospective specimens, respectively. Co-detection and persistent detection across the 9-17-year interval was rare. In repeated-measures models, greater fruit and vegetable intake, older age, and male sex were associated with higher 2,4-D detection. Lower household income was associated with lower AMPA detection, while afternoon/evening collection was associated with higher AMPA detection. In prospective analyses, working on field-crop agricultural land showed the strongest agricultural associations, particularly for 2,4-D and detection of any of the three pesticides. Associations were not seen with self-reported conventional versus organic produce consumption. ConclusionsUrinary pesticide detections were generally infrequent in this Wisconsin population. Diet and direct agricultural activities may be more informative exposure pathways than residing near cropland or private well drinking-water characteristics.
ER -