Recent pesticide exposure affects sleep: A cross-sectional study among smallholder farmers in Uganda

Fuhrimann, Samuel; Brenk, Iris van den; Atuhaire, Aggrey; Mubeezi, Ruth; Staudacher, Philipp; Huss, Anke; Kromhout, Hans

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106878

Cited by 28 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As a case study, Aggrey Atuhaire presented a 12 month randomized control trial (October 2020–October 2021) on the effect of targeted information access (i.e., training and SMS reception) on the responsible use and handling of pesticides among smallholder farmers in Uganda (APSENT-Uganda). The study built upon evidence generated over the past six years within the PESTROP-Uganda project, which generated an interdisciplinary evidence base on environmental and public health issues of smallholder farmers in Uganda [ 44 , 45 , 49 , 50 ]. The intervention study included a 2 day training workshop on the responsible use of pesticides and a 5 month mobile phone SMS structured campaign on the theme of personal protective clothing, targeting 360 and 180 conventional smallholder farmers, respectively, who had previously been assessed through a baseline survey.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions to Reduce Pesticide Exposure from the Agricultural Sector in Africa: A Workshop Report

Röösli

Fuhrimann

Atuhaire³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the fact that several cases of unsafe pesticide use among farmers in different parts of Africa have been documented, there is limited evidence regarding which specific interventions are effective in reducing pesticide exposure and associated risks to human health and ecology. The overall goal of the African Pesticide Intervention Project (APsent) study is to better understand ongoing research and public health activities related to interventions in Africa through the implementation of suitable target-specific situations or use contexts. A systematic review of the scientific literature on pesticide intervention studies with a focus on Africa was conducted. This was followed by a qualitative survey among stakeholders involved in pesticide research or management in the African region to learn about barriers to and promoters of successful interventions. The project was concluded with an international workshop in November 2021, where a broad range of topics relevant to occupational and environmental health risks were discussed such as acute poisoning, street pesticides, switching to alternatives, or disposal of empty pesticide containers. Key areas of improvement identified were training on pesticide usage techniques, research on the effectiveness of interventions targeted at exposure reduction and/or behavioral changes, awareness raising, implementation of adequate policies, and enforcement of regulations and processes.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions to Reduce Pesticide Exposure from the Agricultural Sector in Africa: A Workshop Report

Röösli

Fuhrimann

Atuhaire³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the northeastern region of South Africa [ 31 , 32 ] many studies could be linked to the cohort VHEMBE or the cohort “Occupational health needs of women working on small-scale and emerging farms”, and studies were conducted on pesticide use and its health implications also for woman and their children [ 33 , 34 ]. In East Africa, the PESTROP [ 24 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ] and the PEXADU cohorts [ 25 , 40 ] studies in Uganda produced findings on environmental contamination, KAP of pesticide use, and health implications. While other studies focused on water bodies in Kenya [ 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though most of the herbicides and fungicides have low acute toxicity, there are often associated with being neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, or carcinogenic as a result of low-dose long-term exposures [ 65 ]. A few of the reviewed studies point out the health risks of herbicides (e.g., glyphosate [ 35 ]) and fungicides (e.g., mancozeb [ 24 ]). Most studies focused on the one-exposure one-disease approach, taking into account only single effects of pesticides, while several studies investigating use [ 66 , 67 , 68 ], environmental occurrence [ 56 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ], and human exposure [ 49 , 73 , 74 , 75 ] showed that exposure happens from multiple pesticides over time, which could potentially result in cumulative and synergistic environmental [ 21 ] and public health effects [ 24 , 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few of the reviewed studies point out the health risks of herbicides (e.g., glyphosate [ 35 ]) and fungicides (e.g., mancozeb [ 24 ]). Most studies focused on the one-exposure one-disease approach, taking into account only single effects of pesticides, while several studies investigating use [ 66 , 67 , 68 ], environmental occurrence [ 56 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ], and human exposure [ 49 , 73 , 74 , 75 ] showed that exposure happens from multiple pesticides over time, which could potentially result in cumulative and synergistic environmental [ 21 ] and public health effects [ 24 , 35 ]. The missing research on multiple pesticides could be due to the challenges with analyzing these pesticides in local laboratories [ 76 , 77 ] and knowledge gaps with data analysis techniques [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are only a few research studies on environmental occurrence [ 18 , 19 ] or human exposure and health outcomes of pesticides [ 20 ] in low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs), with particular research gaps in SSA. Additionally, research studies in LMICs often have a disciplinary focus on a specific environmental matrix (e.g., water [ 21 ], soil [ 22 ], or dust [ 23 ]); knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of users [ 16 , 24 , 25 ]; human exposure; and health risks for farmers and farmworkers and vulnerable groups, such as women and children [ 24 , 25 ]. A context-specific overview or an integration of findings across research studies from different matrices and population groups is therefore often missing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Pesticide Research on Environmental and Human Exposure and Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review

Fuhrimann

Wan

Blouzard

et al. 2021

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On the African continent, ongoing agriculture intensification is accompanied by the increasing use of pesticides, associated with environmental and public health concerns. Using a systematic literature review, we aimed to map current geographical research hotspots and gaps around environmental and public health risks research of agriculture pesticides in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies were included that collected primary data on past and current-used agricultural pesticides and assessed their environmental occurrence, related knowledge, attitude and practice, human exposure, and environmental or public health risks between 2006 and 2021. We identified 391 articles covering 469 study sites in 37 countries in SSA. Five geographical research hotspots were identified: two in South Africa, two in East Africa, and one in West Africa. Despite its ban for agricultural use, organochlorine was the most studied pesticide group (60%; 86% of studies included DDT). Current-used pesticides in agriculture were studied in 54% of the study sites (including insecticides (92%), herbicides (44%), and fungicides (35%)). Environmental samples were collected in 67% of the studies (e.g., water, aquatic species, sediment, agricultural produce, and air). In 38% of the studies, human subjects were investigated. Only few studies had a longitudinal design or assessed pesticide’s environmental risks; human biomarkers; dose-response in human subjects, including children and women; and interventions to reduce pesticide exposure. We established a research database that can help stakeholders to address research gaps, foster research collaboration between environmental and health dimensions, and work towards sustainable and safe agriculture systems in SSA.

show abstract

Endophytic Bacillus subtilis H17‐16 effectively inhibits Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen of potato late blight, and its potential application

Zhang

Huang

Yang

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUNDAs a highly prevalent epidemic disease of potato, late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans poses a serious threat to potato yield and quality. At present, Chemical fungicides are mainly used to control potato late blight, but long‐term overuse of chemical fungicides may lead to environmental pollution and human health threats. Endophytes, natural resources for plant diseases control, can promote plant growth, enhance plant resistance, and secrete antifungal substances. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find some beneficial endophytes to control potato late blight.RESULTSWe isolated a strain of Bacillus subtilis H17‐16 from potato healthy roots. It can significantly inhibit mycelial growth, sporangia germination and the pathogenicity of Phytophthora infestans, induce the resistance of potato to late blight, and promote potato growth. In addition, H17‐16 has the ability to produce protease, volatile compounds (VOCs) and form biofilms. After H17‐16 treatment, most of the genes involved in metabolism, virulence and drug resistance of Phytophthora infestans were down‐regulated significantly, and the genes related to ribosome biogenesis were mainly up‐regulated. Moreover, field and postharvest application of H17‐16 can effectively reduce the occurrence of potato late blight, and the combination of H17‐16 with chitosan or chemical fungicides had a better effect than single H17‐16.CONCLUSIONOur results reveal that Bacillus subtilis H17‐16 has great potential as a natural fungicide for controlling potato late blight, laying a theoretical basis for its development as a biological agent.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

show abstract

Recent pesticide exposure affects sleep: A cross-sectional study among smallholder farmers in Uganda

Cited by 28 publications

References 49 publications

Interventions to Reduce Pesticide Exposure from the Agricultural Sector in Africa: A Workshop Report

Interventions to Reduce Pesticide Exposure from the Agricultural Sector in Africa: A Workshop Report

Pesticide Research on Environmental and Human Exposure and Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review

Endophytic Bacillus subtilis H17‐16 effectively inhibits Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen of potato late blight, and its potential application

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About