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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Children and Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1659996

Children's Exposure to Herbicides in Jalisco, Mexico: A Public Health Perspective

Provisionally accepted
Felipe De Jesus Lozano-KastenFelipe De Jesus Lozano-Kasten1Alejandro Aaron Peregrina-LucanoAlejandro Aaron Peregrina-Lucano1Josefina Fausto-GuerraJosefina Fausto-Guerra1Norma Guadalupe Ruiz Velazco-SandovalNorma Guadalupe Ruiz Velazco-Sandoval1Daniel Flores-RodríguezDaniel Flores-Rodríguez1,2Horacio Guzman-TorresHoracio Guzman-Torres1*
  • 1University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
  • 2Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico

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This perspective article examines public health concerns related to herbicide exposure among children living in an agricultural and fishing village on the shores of Lake Chapala in Jalisco, Mexico. The discussion draws on published research comprising four pesticide exposure assessments conducted on children aged 0–14 years between 2016 and 2018. These assessments involved the collection of first-morning urine samples, analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The findings are as follows: November 2016 (n=347; 24.2% positive; 7 herbicides detected), October 2017 (n=187; 86.6% positive; 6 herbicides detected), May 2018 (n=347; 52.2% positive; 4 herbicides detected), and October 2018 (n=347; 12% positive; 4 herbicides detected). A total of three herbicides glyphosate, 2,4-D and Molinate, were detected in each of the four assessments. These results may represent the first evidence of persistent herbicide exposure in children in the Lake Chapala region. Further epidemiological studies are required to deepen understanding of these findings.

Keywords: Children's health, Herbicides, Exposure, Public Health, Environmental Health

Received: 04 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Lozano-Kasten, Peregrina-Lucano, Fausto-Guerra, Ruiz Velazco-Sandoval, Flores-Rodríguez and Guzman-Torres. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Horacio Guzman-Torres, horacio.guzman@academicos.udg.mx

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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