Journal of Disease and Global Health

Agrochemicals, including pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, are widely used to enhance agricultural productivity but pose significant environmental and public health risks. This narrative review examines the environmental pathways through which agrochemicals disperse and their implications for human health. Agrochemicals contaminate soil, water, and air through processes such as runoff, leaching, volatilization, and spray drift, facilitating their entry into food systems and increasing human exposure via dietary, occupational, and environmental routes. Toxicokinetic processes, including absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, influence their biological fate, while mechanisms such as neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, oxidative stress, and genotoxicity contribute to adverse health outcomes. Evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies links agrochemical exposure to acute poisoning, chronic diseases, neurological disorders, reproductive dysfunction, and immunological effects, although variability in study design limits causal inference. Unlike previous reviews, this study provides an integrated framework linking environmental transport pathways with human exposure mechanisms and health outcomes, offering a more comprehensive understanding of risk. It also identifies critical research gaps, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and emphasizes the need for standardized methodologies and improved monitoring systems. Strengthening risk assessment, regulatory enforcement, and sustainable agricultural practices is essential to reduce exposure and protect human health.