Toxicology

We study the health effects of environmental toxic exposures, including pesticides, heavy metals, and endocrine disrupting chemicals, on neurological, reproductive, developmental, and chronic diseases in human populations

Parkinson's Disease and Proximity to Agricultural Cultivated Fields

In an ecological study led by Maayan Yitshak-Sade (Yitshak-Sade et al, 2015), we screened all Clalit Health Services members in the Negev (approximately 70% of the population) between 2000 and 2012 for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Residential locations were analyzed in relation to proximity to agricultural cultivated fields. We found that standardized incidence rates of PD were significantly higher in localities located near large agricultural fields.

Exposure to metals and morbidity at eight years follow-up in women of childbearing age

In a large cohort study between 2011-2013 we enrolled 1823 women of Bedouin-Arab origin who arrived at Soroka hospital for a delivery. When possible, we collected a spot urine sample for women agreeing to participate in the study. The samples were later tested for heavy metals and these concentrations were inspected vs birth outcomes (Karakis et al, 2014, 2015) and maternal (Karakis et al, 2021a) and neonatal morbidity 6-8 years after the index birth (Karakis et al, 2021b). The analysis indicated multiple pollutant-morbidity links.

Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in a rural vegetarian/vegan community

In a study by Torjman et al. (2016), exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was assessed in 42 residents of Amirim, a vegetarian/vegan community in Israel, and compared to 184 participants from the Israel Biomonitoring Study. While no difference was found for bisphenol A (BPA), vegetarians and vegans showed ~21% lower exposure to high molecular weight phthalates, with vegans exhibiting 36% lower DiNP metabolites than vegetarians (P<0.05). In contrast, phytoestrogen levels were about 10-fold higher in Amirim residents (P<0.001). These findings suggest that plant-based diets may modestly reduce some synthetic EDC exposures while markedly increasing dietary phytoestrogens.