Glyphosate as a risk factor for congenital malformations: a literature review Glifosato como factor de riesgo para malformaciones congénitas: revisión bibliográfica

Abstract

Background:in the last 40 years, changes in agricultural practices have led to the consequent use of pesticides to increase yields and avoid pests that affect production, being a procedure commonly used worldwide. In Colombia, the use of these pesticides, especially glyphosate, whose worldwide trade name is Roundup®, composed of 480 g/L of the isopropylamine salt of N-phosphonomethylglicine, has been extensively used for more than 30 years in the Valle del Cauca region to accelerate ripening of sugar cane, and applied as a herbicide for coffee, banana, rice, cocoa and African palm crops, as well as in citrus
groves, in other regions of the country. Methods: a systematic and comprehensive literature search was performed in Cochrane, Medline, Embase, Lilacs and Scielo databases using different combinations of exposure and outcome terms. Results: the search found thirteen studies testing associations between glyphosate and birth defects. Conclusions: five of the thirteen articles found no association between glyphosate exposure and the occurrence of malformations, while eight studies found some type
of association between malformations and contact with glyphosate or its salts. Further prospective studies are needed.