An Anti-Inflammatory Response of an Organic Food Intervention by Reducing Pesticide Exposures in Children of Cyprus: A Cluster-Randomized Crossover Trial

Organic food consumption in children and adults has been shown to reduce the body burden of chemical pesticides. However, there is little evidence of potential health benefits associated with consumption of organic foods, especially in children. The objectives of this study were to i) determine the effectiveness of an organic food intervention in reducing the magnitude of an inflammation biomarker (CRP) in children aged 10-12 years, and ii) assess the association between the biomarkers of exposure to pesticides and CRP levels in the same children population. This study was part of the ORGANIKO cluster-randomized cross-over trial entailing a 40-day organic food treatment for 149 healthy children (10-12 years) in Cyprus. Urinary biomarkers of exposure to pesticides and inflammation (CRP) were measured using tandem mass spectrometry and ELISA immunoassay, respectively. Linear mixed-effect regression models of CRP were used to account for the effect and duration of the organic food treatment. Multiple comparisons were handled using Benjamini-Hochberg correction. A time-dependent reduction for creatinine-adjusted CRP (β = -0.019; 95% CI: -0.031, -0.006; q = 0.045) was observed during the organic food intervention period. A statistically significant association (β = 0.104; 95% CI: 0.035, 0.173; q = 0.045) was found between the biomarker of pyrethroid pesticides exposure (3-PBA) and the CRP inflammatory biomarker, but this was not the case for the neonicotinoids biomarker (6-CN). A 40-day long organic food treatment was able to reduce the inflammatory response associated with a conventional food treatment in healthy children. This could be partially explained by the concomitant reduction in pesticide exposure levels during the organic food treatment. More studies are warranted to sufficiently demonstrate the anti-inflammatory response of an organic food treatment.