ABSTRACT
Objective:
to check and compare female farm workers’ and female tobacco farm workers’ behavior related to the use of pesticides after the pregnancy diagnosis and their effect on the infants’ hearing.
Methods:
a cross-sectional analytical observational study developed with 59 female farming mothers. From these, 25 were tobacco farm workers (Group F) and 34 were farm workers for other crops (Group A - control). The results of the hearing screening of 59 infants, from both groups, were verified. The anamnesis to raise the risk factor indicators for hearing disabilities as well as the caption of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs) was accomplished.
Results:
tobacco farming is directly related to the use of pesticides (p=0.0043); laundry of clothes worn to apply the pesticides is an indirect means of exposure/ contamination by pesticides and/or chemical substances (p=0.018); the association between pass/fail results and Hearing Disabilities Risk Indicators (HDRI) of infants in both groups (tobacco farm workers and other workers) did not show significant statistical differences.
Conclusion:
effects on the hearing health of infants of female tobacco farm workers and other farm workers exposed to pesticides were not found in this research. Further studies on this theme are suggested.
Keywords:
Infant; Pregnancy; Hearing; Tobacco; Pesticides