Pesticide exposure and health conditions of terrestrial pesticide applicators in Córdoba Province, Argentina

Butinof, Mariana; Fernandez, Ricardo Antorio; Stimolo, María Inés; Lantieri, María Josefina; Blanco, Marcelo; Machado, Ana Lia; Franchini, Germán; Díaz, María del Pilar

doi:10.1590/0102-311X00218313

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Cadernos de Saúde Pública

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Article • Cad. Saúde Pública 31 (3) • Mar 2015 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00218313 copy

Pesticide exposure and health conditions of terrestrial pesticide applicators in Córdoba Province, Argentina

Exposición a plaguicidas y condiciones de salud de agroaplicadores terrestres de la Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina

Exposição aos agrotóxicos e condições de saúde dos aplicadores de pesticidas da Província de Córdoba, Argentina

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Agricultural workers represent a population that is highly vulnerable to the toxic effects of pesticide exposure. This cross sectional study aimed to describe the health conditions of terrestrial pesticide applicators in Córdoba Province, Argentina, their work practices and socio-demographic characteristics, by means of a standardized self-administered questionnaire (n = 880). A descriptive analysis reported a high prevalence of occasional or frequent symptoms: 47.4% had symptoms of irritation, 35.5% fatigue, 40.4% headache and 27.6% nervousness or depression. Using logistic regression models, risk and protective factors were found for symptoms of irritation, medical consultation and hospitalization. Among the occupational exposure variables, marital status, length of time in the job, low level of protection with regard to the use of personal protective equipment, combined use of different pesticides and the application of the insecticide endosulfan, were associated with a higher frequency of reported symptoms and higher consultation rates and hospitalization.

Pesticides; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure

	n	Valid (%) *
Age (years)
14-24	149	17.8
25-34	314	37.5
35-44	207	24.7
45 and over	167	20.0
Education
Incomplete primary	88	11.8
Complete primary	271	36.3
Incomplete secondary	196	26.3
Complete secondary, technical or university studies	191	25.6
Marital Status
Married or cohabiting	474	63.5
Unmarried, separated, divorced or widower	273	36.5
Proximity to the nearest treated crop of the applicators household
Less than 500m	316	46.5
500m or more	364	53.5
Time in the job (mixing/applying pesticides in years)
≤ 1	122	14.2
2-5	298	34.8
6-10	201	23.4
11-20	162	18.9
> 20	75	8.6
Application technology used
Crop sprayers or self-propelled machines with sealed, pressurized cabin, with activated charcoal filter (yes)	435	71.9
Crop sprayer or self-propelled machine without activated charcoal filter (yes)	256	46.9
Backpack (yes)	254	36.0
Written pesticide prescription by an agricultural engineer
Received a written prescription (yes)	123	14.0
Level of protection (use of PPE)
Not using any PPE	126	14.3
Using some PPE	466	53.0
Adequately use of PPE	288	32.7

	n	Valid (%) *
Herbicides
Glyphosate	858	98.5
2,4 D – 2,4 DB	810	93.5
Atrazine	799	92.2
Metsulfuron	706	82.3
Dicamba	587	69.4
Acetochlor	524	60.9
Metolachlor	440	51.8
Picloram	392	46.0
Insecticides
Cypermethrin	829	95.7
Chlorpyrifos	705	82.1
Endosulfan	638	75.6
Dimethoate	526	65.8
Deltamethrin	516	60.8
Fungicides
Pyraclostrobin + Epoxiconazole	299	37.8
Azoxystrobin + Ciproconazole	241	36.7
Carbendazim + Epoxiconazole	272	34.3
Carbendazim	277	33.0
Thiram	163	19.5

	Symptoms and health assistance
Occupational exposure and demographic characteristics	Signs of Irritation	Fatigue/Tiredness	Headache	Nervousness or depression	Medical consultation	Hospitalization
	Never/Rarely: 52.6	Never/Rarely: 64.5	Never/Rarely: 59.6	Never/Rarely: 72.4	Never: 64.4	Never: 94.6
	Sometimes/Frequently: 47.4	Sometimes/Frequently: 35.5	Sometimes/Frequently: 40.4	Sometimes/Frequently: 27.6	Once or more: 35.6	Once or more: 5.4
Seniority in the job (years) *
≤ 10	45.2	35.2	39.2	26.6	32.2	4.6
> 10	54.9	37.8	43.2	31.4	44.6	8.1
	p = 0.03	p = 0.52	p = 0.35	p = 0.24	p < 0.01	p = 0.07
Level of protection (use of PPE)
Protected	41.6	33.7	34.6	23.5	41.0	4.9
Partially or unprotected *	50.2	36.4	43.2	29.6	33.0	5.6
	p = 0.04	p = 0.48	p = 0.03	p = 0.10	p = 0.03	p = 0.68
Agrochemical prescription signed by an agronomist *
Yes	37.8	28.0	32.6	23.2	34.5	7.1
No	48.8	36.6	41.5	28.3	35.7	5.1
	p = 0.06	p = 0.105	p = 0.11	p = 0.33	p = 0.81	p = 0.41
Application technology used *
Crop sprayer **	45.2	40.0	43.6	27.6	38.7	4.6
	p = 0.93	p = 0.36	p = 0.38	p = 0.64	p = 0.02	p = 0.51
Backpack	47.7	37.6	36.5	23.9	39.8	5.1
	p = 0.72	p = 0.54	p = 0.02	p = 0.18	p = 0.20	p = 0.58
Mixed or applied more than 10 pesticides *	51.5	37.8	44.6	29.3	40.3	6.2
Mixed or applied more than 10 pesticides *	p < 0.01	p = 0.07	p < 0.01	p = 0.12	p < 0.01	p = 0.17
Insecticides *
Chlorpyrifos	50.9	37.1	41.7	28.5	39.2	6.2
	p < 0.01	p = 0.08	p = 0.21	p = 0.34	p < 0.01	p = 0.05
Endosulfan	50.0	37.3	41.1	29.4	39.9	6.6
	p = 0.03	p = 0.11	p = 0.58	p = 0.10	p < 0.01	p = 0.02
Cypermethrin	48.6	36.1	41.2	28.5	36.3	5.8
	p = 0.04	p = 0.26	p = 0.15	p = 0.08	p = 0.14	p = 0.06
Age (years) *
14-24	45.4	39.7	39.8	28.0	26.1	5.8
25-34	48.1	33.3	37.3	25.1	31.0	4.5
35-44	49.0	34.3	49.7	26.8	47.1	6.9
45 and over	43.6	32.6	32.8	30.8	39.0	5.6
	p = 0.31	p = 0.15	p = 0.01	p = 0.41	p < 0.01	p = 0.87
Marital status *
Married/Cohabiting	45.2	35.1	41.9	28.8	38.8	5.8
Unmarried/Separated	50.9	35.2	37.9	27.7	28.2	4.3
Divorced/Widower
	p = 0.18	p = 0.96	p = 0.32	p = 0.77	p < 0.01	p = 0.42
Education level *
Incomplete primary	42.5	25.4	29.2	29.1	26.0	2.8
Complete primary	44.5	35.6	40.4	24.0	39.7	7.0
Incomplete secondary	51.4	40.2	43.6	34.2	40.9	5.6
Complete secondary, technical or university studies	54.4	34.3	43.6	33.3	30.0	3.4
	p = 0.20	p = 0.21	p = 0.19	p = 0.16	p = 0.02	p = 0.34
Proximity of housing to crops *
Less than 500m	44.8	38.0	42.5	30.1	33.6	3.7
500m or more	47.4	35.7	41.3	26.1	37.0	5.3
	p = 0.55	p = 0.56	p = 0.77	p = 0.31	p = 0.37	p = 0.35

	Categories	OR (95%CI)	p-value
Did you present symptoms of irritation?
Independent variables
Consulted a medical doctor?	Never	1.00	0.00
Consulted a medical doctor?	Once or more	1.96 (1.31; 2.94)	0.00
Nervousness or depression	Never or rarely	1.00	0.00
Nervousness or depression	Sometimes or frequently	4.39 (2.83; 6.80)	0.00
Marital status	Married or cohabiting	1.00	0.02
Marital status	Unmarried, separated, divorced or widower	1.61 (1.07; 2.40)	0.02
Use of PPE	Without proper protection	1.00	0.02
Use of PPE	Adequately protected (minimum 90%)	0.61 (0.40; 0.92)	0.02
Seniority in the job	Up to 10 years	1.00	0.03
Seniority in the job	More than 10 years	1.65 (1.05; 2.59)	0.03
Mixed or applied	Up to 10 pesticides	1.00	0.03
Mixed or applied	More than 10 pesticides	1.56 (1.04; 2.35)	0.03
Did you consult a medical doctor?
Independent variables
Nervousness or depression	Never or rarely	1.00	0.06
Nervousness or depression	Sometimes or frequently	1.89 (1.20; 2.99)	0.06
Fatigue/Tiredness	Never or rarely	1.00	0.02
Fatigue/Tiredness	Sometimes or frequently	1.69 (1.11; 2.58)	0.02
Symptoms of irritation	Never or rarely	1.00	0.01
Symptoms of irritation	Sometimes or frequently	1.75 (1.16; 2.65)	0.01
Marital status	Married or cohabiting	1.00	0.04
Marital status	Unmarried. separated. divorced o widower	0.65 (0.44; 0.98)	0.04
Use of PPE	Without proper protection	1.00	0.03
Use of PPE	Adequately protected (minimum 90%)	1.58 (1.05; 2.37)	0.03
Endosulfan	Did not apply	1.00	0.01
Endosulfan	Applied	2.10 (1.32; 3.35)	0.01
Have you been hospitalized?
Independent variables
Symptoms of irritation	Never or rarely	1.00	0.01
Symptoms of irritation	Sometimes or frequently	3.37 (1.39; 8.16)	0.01
Headache	Never or rarely	1.00	0.02
Headache	Sometimes or frequently	2.66 (1.20; 5.90)	0.02
Endosulfan	Did not apply	1.00	0.06
Endosulfan	Applied	2.74 (0.94; 8.04)	0.06

Author (year)	Country	Frequency of occurrence of symptoms	Type of reportead symptoms
Matos et al. ²⁷ (2008)	Argentina	12.3 and 20.2%, in flower and plant growers	Tearing, coughing and expectoration, blurred vision, runny nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
Delgado & Paumgartten ²⁸ (2004)	Brazil	71.0%	Headache, nausea, decreased vision, vertigo, skin irritation, loss of appetite, tremor, vomiting, diarrhea, chest pain
Mourand ³⁰ (2005)	Palestina	87.5%	Burning eyes, skin rash, skin irritation, dyspnoea and chest pain, dizziness and headache
Strong et al. ²⁹ (2004)	USA	50.0%	Headache, burning eyes, muscle, joint and bone pain, skin rush, blurred vision, shortness of breath
Palacios-Nava & Moreno-Tetlacuilo ³¹ (2004)	México	56.1%	Headache, stomachache, muscular pain
Palacios-Nava ³² (2003)	México	27.0 to 35.0% of the acute symptoms appears within 24 hours, persistent 15 days after exposure	Tiredness or weakness, headache, muscular pain, blurred vision, irritated eyes, dizziness
Cortés-Genchi et al. ³³ (2008)	México	38.0%	Headache, itching and dizziness

Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480 , 21041-210 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil, Tel.:+55 21 2598-2511, Fax: +55 21 2598-2737 / +55 21 2598-2514 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
E-mail: cadernos@ensp.fiocruz.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Correspondence M. Butinof Escuela de Nutrición, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Edificio Escuelas de Ciencias Médicas, E. Barros s/n. 2º piso, Córdoba 5000, Argentina. mariana@butinof.com.ar