Exposure of tobacco farm working mothers to pesticides and the effects on the infants’ auditory health

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.

Characterization of occupational exposure to pesticides and its impact on the health of rural women

“…It is also important to highlight that in the division of labor in agriculture, women occupy a subordinate position and their work appears as an aid, even when they work as much as men or perform the same activities. Thus, because they are only "helping", they are more exposed to risks by handling chemical agents without proper protection 32 .…”

Complicações Decorrentes Do Uso De Agrotóxicos Por Gestantes

“…A relação entre criptorquidia e a exposição a agrotóxicos de todas as classes tem mostrado capacidade de induzir a criptorquidia, entretanto deve-se dar maior importância aos herbicidas, dos quais o Glifosato faz parte. Buaski et al (2018) em pesquisa realizada no município de Irati (Paraná), mais especificamente em uma Clínica Escola, analisou uma amostra constituída de mães fumicultoras e agricultoras, que se fizeram presentes com os seus neonatos para a realização do teste da orelhinha. O estudo foi realizado no período de junho de 2016 a julho de 2017, identificando associação entre os resultados de falha auditiva de lactentes e a realização de higienização de roupas utilizadas na aplicação de agrotóxicos, apontando para o mecanismo de contaminação/intoxicação indireta por agrotóxicos destas mulheres, acarretando desfecho de sua gestação.…”

Qualitative Study to Explore the Occupational and Reproductive Health Challenges among Women Tobacco Farm Laborers in Mysore District, India

“…Almost 5% of infants whose mothers exposed to pesticides in tobacco farming failed hearing screening. [16]. Tobacco farmers exposed to pesticides also exhibited signs of central auditory dysfunction characterized by decrements in temporal processing and binaural integration processes [17].…”