Results: After weighting for potential confounders, missing covariate data, and dropout, ever-use of two pesticide classes, fumigants and organochlorine insecticides, and seven individual pesticides—the fumigants aluminum phosphide and ethylene dibromide; the phenoxy herbicide (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4,5-T); the organochlorine insecticide dieldrin; and the organophosphate insecticides diazinon, malathion, and parathion—were all positively associated with depression in each case group, with ORs between 1.1 and 1.9."
Did they control for crop loss and farmer knowledge?
There is a chance that the causal links go like this:
* lack of knowledge -> spray at wrong time
* spray at wrong time -> no pests killed
* no pests killed -> crop loss
* crop loss -> income lost -> depression
* crop loss + lack of knowlege -> spray even more at the wrong times
Thus creating a destructive feedback loop with depression as an accidental side effect of the process. I can say with a high degree of certainty that each single link appears to be true. We'll say 90% confidence factor for each of the five steps, 60% total confidence factor across the whole causal loop.
Knowledge is a huge factor for farming. I can say that from watching my family farm over the past 20 years, that as my family has figured out what to spray and (more importantly) when to spray our pesticide use has dropped and our yields have gone up.
It looks like one of the factors was "cumulative days use of any pesticide". However this did not take plot size into account - a farmer with a large plot and an appropriate use of pesticides is in the same category as a farmer with a small plot and an overuse of pesticides.
"Farm size" was mentioned in the previously identified confounding factors, but not one that was corrected for in the study after seeing it made no difference? Education was a confounding factor that was accounted for.
"Cumulative days use per acre" would be an interesting factor to test, but varies greatly between various crops and climates. "Crop loss despite pesticide application" would be the real one to measure but that requires a certain degree of god-like knowledge. Days-use-per-acre over time and yields-per-acre over time is probably the best that could be managed, where "time" is at least 5-10 years.
One term in the paper went over my head and I can't find a definition or sufficient context. Does "ever-use" mean a small amount or a large amount? (once-ever or for-ever)
The much more interesting question: what do all those biozides do to the non-targetted wildlife, e.g. cats, dogs, bees, frogs, fish in the downstream of rivers where the rain accumulates...
At least in bees there are already concerns that massive amounts of biozides contribute to hive deaths.
One statement that I disagree with is the one that farmers apply the majority of pesticides. In actuality commercial applicators, most likely employees of commercial fertilizer companies or Coops are applying a very large amount of total pesticides.
I spent twenty years in the fertilizer business as an agronomist. Interestingly a government study back in the nineties found a link between commercial pesticide applicators and depression. In that study it was only insecticides that caused problems. Note a large percentage of those insecticides are no longer applied as extensively because of genetically modified seeds.
It seems to be mainly insecticides which are dangerous. This is because insecticides are by design meant to harm animals, which have much more biologically in common with us than plants or fungi.
Just read about Roundup being commonly used by wheat farmers to "desiccate" the crop before harvest (allowing for earlier harvest). Maybe this whole gluten intolerance thing is actually a Roundup intolerance.
Given that this study is about pesticides, not herbicides, and glyphosate (RoundUp) wasn't one of the chemicals tested, I don't think there's any evidence for that here.
I should have put "off topic" in my comment, but I thought it was obvious since I didn't mention a pesticide or depression. I just thought my comment might be of interest to anyone that would be reading the post.
Results: After weighting for potential confounders, missing covariate data, and dropout, ever-use of two pesticide classes, fumigants and organochlorine insecticides, and seven individual pesticides—the fumigants aluminum phosphide and ethylene dibromide; the phenoxy herbicide (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4,5-T); the organochlorine insecticide dieldrin; and the organophosphate insecticides diazinon, malathion, and parathion—were all positively associated with depression in each case group, with ORs between 1.1 and 1.9."