The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of hearing loss among rural workers of Povoado Colônia Treze, Lagarto, State of Sergipe, Brazil. A total of 351 adult workers aged 18 to 59 years were selected, with current or past work activity in rural areas, with or without use of pesticides. The hearing evaluation included a form to record air-borne tonal thresholds using normality criteria recommended by Merluzzi 1979. The instrument used for assessing the quality of life was the Brazilian version of Short Form 36 (SF-36). Statistical analysis was performed (chi-square c², nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test, Cramer's V and Cohen's d) with a significance level of 95% (p <0.05). The results related the use of pesticide with the degree of toxicity in the presence of hearing loss and indices of quality of life (p <0.001). This study proved that agricultural workers, users of pesticides showed the worst levels of quality of life when compared with those who have not handled them. The use of pesticides and their toxicity class interfered in a most striking way in the classification of hearing loss presented in this group and further studies are recommended to assess other impacts on this population.

Resumo Os agrotóxicos podem causar inúmeros problemas de saúde e são considerados agentes otoagressores. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as características auditivas nas altas frequências em trabalhadores com e sem exposição aos agrotóxicos, que apresentaram resultados normais na audiometria convencional. Estudo transversal com 87 trabalhadores, de ambos os gêneros, entre 19 e 59 anos, com vínculo de trabalho formal, informal e/ou que atuavam na agricultura familiar e realizaram Audiometria de Altas Frequências. O uso de glifosato foi relatado por 73% dos trabalhadores e as misturas de agrotóxicos diversos ocorreram em 78% deles. Não foi identificado uso adequado dos equipamentos de proteção individual recomendados para a atividade agrícola. Os trabalhadores expostos a agrotóxicos apresentaram piores resultados na Audiometria de Altas Frequências quando comparados aos que não tiveram contato com agrotóxicos (p < 0,0001). A Audiometria de Altas Frequências pode ser considerada um instrumento sensível para detectar, precocemente, alterações auditivas em trabalhadores expostos a agrotóxicos, e, seu uso em serviços de saúde poderá contribuir para as ações de vigilância em saúde do trabalhador.

This article deals with the contribution of Macao Portuguese newspapers to the dissemination of sources, themes and works of a historical nature, often called antiguidades (‘relics’) and memorias historicas (‘historical memories’) and the politicization of historiographical text – a vast but practically unexplored topic that deserves an independent study. The approach is exploratory and descriptive, being first a non-detailed inventory of the theme, proposing a transversal reading of the press, the study of which is often focused on a chronological/thematic description of the various newspapers and magazines. A cross analysis was also carried out of the serials’ historical contents highlighting the writer/editor’s influence in selection, appropriation and dissemination of this same memories, compared with their individual historiographical writings and political and cultural intervention. Space constraints limit the present article – the first of a series under the general heading ‘relics’ and ‘historical memories’ – to the first half of the nineteenth century and to the newspaper O Macaista Imparcial (‘The impartial Macanese’) published between 1836 and 1838. Diversified historic news were found in the serial compiled by José Baptista de Miranda e Lima (1782–1848), a Portuguese and Latin grammar teacher as well as prominent and controversial figure of early liberalism in Macao. Being one of the first known authors to write in the Macanese creole, or patoá (‘patois’), he also used ethnic arguments in political reasoning, which deserves to be better explored. The present article concludes that the historical recurrence brought into the pages of O Macaista Imparcial is a traditional and foundational narrative of Macao’s exceptional and atypical characteristics, built and maintained under the Portuguese banner and, thanks to the perseverance, ability and skills of those in the terrain, deserving of recognition and of reward.

Saúde auditiva e qualidade de vida em trabalhadores expostos a agrotóxicosHearing care and quality of life among workers exposed to pesticides

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