Food Contaminants
pesticide exposure decreases fertility
In plain terms: Do pesticides make it harder to conceive?
Contested Food Contaminants 🔬 Includes disconfirming
Part of: 🔍 pesticides in food
RefutedContestedStrong support
consensus score 0.15
For people working with them, probably. For ordinary consumers the evidence is thin, relies on indirect measures, and one large study found the opposite of what you would expect.
📅 Last reviewed: 2026-07-29 ⓘ
Evidence ladder
How far up the ladder this claim has climbed. A high consensus on a low rung means "consistent so far," not "proven in people."
Top evidence so far: Population patterns (Observational)
MechanismIn-vitroAnimalObservationalRCTMeta-analysis
How the studies fall
6 support 3 contradict 0 tested null 10 mixed · 19 sources, 9 independent groups
What the evidence shows
The strongest and most consistent signal is occupational. For ordinary dietary consumers the evidence is thinner, leans on surrogates rather than fertility itself, and includes at least one finding running the opposite way.
The evidence (19)
| Source | Grade | Stance | Quality | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazemi M et al 2025 · study_type: observational | observational | mixed | moderate | Prospective cohort, 633 reproductive-aged women at a US fertility center; high-pesticide-residue fruit/vegetable intake was inversely related to antral follicle count, and among women without a prior fertility evaluation, day-3 FSH was 71.6 |
| Apú N et al 2025 · study_type: observational | observational | supports | low | Biomonitoring-prioritization review for Costa Rica citing (not newly testing) prior reports of reduced fertility among agricultural workers (OCCUPATIONAL) and higher male-infertility prevalence in intensive-pesticide-use regions (RESIDENTIA |
| Den Hond E et al 2015 · Environment international | observational | mixed | low | Case-control, 163 men recruited from fertility clinics; an IQR increase in serum oxychlordane (an organochlorine pesticide) gave OR=1.98 (95% CI 1.07-3.69) for subfertility. Biomarker-measured, general/background (non-occupational) exposure |
| Zhou X et al 2026 · study_type: observational | observational | contradicts | moderate | NHANES 1999-2018, 1,356 postmenopausal US women; total urinary DAP (organophosphate metabolite) concentration was associated with LATER age at menopause and LONGER reproductive lifespan (beta=0.10, 95% CI 0.03-0.17, p=0.006) -- the opposite |
| Wang Y et al 2026 · study_type: animal | animal | mixed | low | NHANES population analysis found only a non-significant trend toward higher self-reported insecticide exposure among women with ovarian dysfunction; parallel EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL dosing of mice with permethrin/cypermethrin/deltamethrin produ |
| d10-5620-eaht-2026015 2026 · Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology | observational | supports | low | Narrative review asserting organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides disrupt female reproductive/endocrine function (irregular cycles, PCOS, follicular atresia) and 'ultimately' contribute to infertility, but the authors state most unde |
| Hu Y et al 2018 · Environmental health perspectives | observational | supports | moderate | Shanghai Birth Cohort, 615 couples (569 nulliparous) prospectively followed preconception; highest vs lowest quartile of urinary DETP (organophosphate metabolite) had longer time-to-pregnancy (adjusted FOR=0.68, 95% CI 0.51-0.92) and higher |
| Satapathy T et al 2025 · preprint | animal | mixed | low | Female Wistar rats (36 of 48 total), EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL dosing with imidacloprid (neonicotinoid, dose not stated in abstract) 'significantly reduced fertility index,' altered LH/FSH/estrogen/progesterone and caused ovarian/uterine structur TEMPERED: preclinical (animal/in-vitro) evidence, retained in the ledger but not carrying a human-outcome headline; dosing is typically far above human exposure. |
| Kazemi M et al 2025 · study_type: observational | observational | supports | moderate | Prospective cohort, 244 male partners/437 ART cycles (Massachusetts General Hospital, 2007-2021); high- vs low-pesticide-residue fruit/vegetable intake in men was associated with lower fertilization rate (0.69 vs 0.78, P-trend=0.04), restri |
| Napierkowska S et al 2026 · study_type: animal | animal | mixed | moderate | Controlled study in roosters (Gallus gallus), 8 groups, 6-week EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL dosing with tebuconazole/imidacloprid/glyphosate individually and combined at sub-MRL (below the regulatory maximum residue limit -- i.e., dietary-relevant, TEMPERED: preclinical (animal/in-vitro) evidence, retained in the ledger but not carrying a human-outcome headline; dosing is typically far above human exposure. |
| Stapleton JL et al 2025 · study_type: observational | observational | mixed | low | Cross-sectional pilot, 42 healthy young men; urinary organophosphate (DAP) metabolites, driven by diethyl metabolites, were inversely associated with sperm motility, not mediated by seminal oxidative-reduction potential. Small general-popul |
| Kasra Kermanshahi R et al 2026 · study_type: animal | animal | mixed | low | Adult rats, 58-day EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL dosing with tricyclazole (fungicide, dose not stated in abstract) reduced testosterone and gonadosomatic index, increased oxidative stress, and disrupted seminiferous epithelium/spermatogenic transcrip |
| Snijder CA et al 2012 · Human reproduction update | observational | supports | moderate | Systematic review of 49 studies on occupational chemical exposure and time-to-pregnancy; found 'strong indications for adverse effects on TTP' from pesticide exposure, particularly in flower/agricultural/horticultural workers, comparable in |
| Kahn LG et al 2021 · Human reproduction update | observational | contradicts | moderate | Systematic review, 28 papers/19 studies (2007-2019) of human time-to-pregnancy (TTP); found 'little or no support' for an association between female exposure to organochlorine (OC) pesticides, or male exposure to any persistent-pollutant cl |
| Knapke ET et al 2022 · Toxicology | observational | mixed | moderate | Navigation Guide systematic review, 19 studies (2012-2021) of environmental/occupational pesticide exposure and sperm parameters; 79% found >=1 significant association, with 'sufficient evidence of toxicity' specifically for sperm motility |
| Grindstad T et al 2025 · study_type: observational | observational | supports | moderate | Norwegian MoBa cohort, 64,942 women/53,219 men, self-reported environmental exposures; any pesticide exposure in women was associated with reduced fecundability (FR 0.94, 95% CI 0.91-0.98), no significant association found in men. Self-repo |
| Food Safety Commission of Japan. 2026 · Food safety (Tokyo, Japan) | animal | contradicts | moderate | Japan FSCJ regulatory risk assessment of cyclopyranil (herbicide), including a guideline two-generation reproductive toxicity study in rats (EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL dosing, NOAEL 60 mg/kg bw/day from a separate developmental study); adverse eff |
| Cofone L et al 2023 · Annali di igiene : medicina preventiva e di comunita | observational | mixed | low | Systematic review, 21 human-biomonitoring studies (urine/blood) of environmental/occupational pollutants incl. pesticides; found a significant positive correlation between pollutant biomarker levels and reduced sperm motility, concentration |
| Pons R et al 2021 · Journal of occupational and environmental medicine | observational | mixed | low | French AGRICAN cohort, 616 women reporting a pregnancy; prior farm work was non-significantly associated with reduced fecundability (adjusted fOR 0.86, 95% CI 0.71-1.05). OCCUPATIONAL exposure inferred from job/activity (not a pesticide bio |
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Educational only, not medical advice. Grades and scores reflect published evidence weighted by study design and quality; see the methodology.