Individual Risk Assessment for Population Living on the Territories Long-Term Polluted by Organochlorine Pesticides

Abstract

The long-term storage of unutilized pesticides raised new problems of long-term environmental contamination. The study presents the results of surveying 151 individuals in 7 villages living close to pesticide-contaminated localities. All individuals have been surveyed concerning their consumption habits and lifestyle characteristics. An assessment of the general exposure risks of the local population was carried out using the analysis of pollutants in food products and the average levels of their consumption in the region. The cohort risk evaluation revealed that the greatest risk was associated with the regular consumption of cucumbers, pears, bell peppers, meat, and milk. The new model to estimate individual risks of long-term pesticide pollution was proposed as a calculation of the combined action of 9 risk factors, including individual genotypes, age, lifestyle, and personal pesticide consumption rates. The analysis of the predictive ability of this model showed that the final score for individual health risks corresponded to the development of chronic diseases. A high level of chromosomal aberrations was evidenced for individual genetic risk manifestations. The combined influence of all risk factors revealed contributions of 24.7% for health status and 14.2% for genetic status, while other impacts go to all unaccounted factors.

Case-Control Study of the Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Genes Involved in Xenobiotic Detoxification and Antioxidant Protection with the Long-Term Influence of Organochlorine Pesticides on the Population of the Almaty Region

“…Surveys of these individuals included questioning, clinical and cytogenetic factors, the level of consumption of pesticides with products of plant and animal origin, etc. [ 17 , 19 ]. Based on these materials, a case cohort of 221 individuals ( Supplementary Materials Tables S1 and S2 ) was selected for the molecular epidemiological study.…”

“…The influence of genes on the antioxidant defense system was mainly expressed in genetic risk (8%) but did not significantly affect health risk (0.03%). It should be noted that only the most popular polymorphisms of genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification and antioxidant protection were previously studied [ 19 ]. The hypothesis of an adaptive response that assumes the rapid realization of “unfavorable” genotypes through the development of fatal diseases (for example, cancer) and the selection of “favorable” protective genotypes under chronic intoxication by pesticides is quite testable on a population that has been exposed to banned organochlorine pesticides for 15 years.…”

“…The selection of a study cohort was carried out taking into account previous studies in the frame of the project “Comprehensive Assessment of the Impact of Non-utilized and Banned Pesticides on the Genetic Status and Health of the Population of the Almaty Region” (BR05236379, 2018–2020). Collected biosamples are presented in the gene bank of the Institute of Genetics and Physiology (Almaty, Kazakhstan) [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The materials for this study were personal data, general health survey data, and EDTA-treated frozen peripheral blood samples.…”

“…This study is part of the results of a complex project devoted to evaluating the ecological situation of populated territories of the Almaty region contaminated by banned organochlorine pesticides over 10 years. The results indicated that organochlorine pesticides and their decay products entered the human food chain and influenced the level of chromosome aberrations and somatic health status [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The impact of many factors on health status was estimated in a recently published article [ 19 ].…”

“…The results indicated that organochlorine pesticides and their decay products entered the human food chain and influenced the level of chromosome aberrations and somatic health status [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The impact of many factors on health status was estimated in a recently published article [ 19 ]. The pesticide content in the food chain was a primary factor influencing health status.…”