Respiratory diseases and pesticide exposure: a case-control study in Lebanon

Salameh, Pascale; Waked, Mirna; Baldi, Isabelle; Brochard, Patrick; Saleh, Bernadette Abi

doi:10.1136/jech.2005.039677

Cited by 50 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The lower frequency of respiratory problems among the long-term exposed may be explained by adaptation and tolerance. Salameh et al [40] showed that inhalation of pesticides induced irritation of the airways causing acute mucosal hyperactivity. However, individuals undergoing chronic exposure to the same irritants may develop tolerance by desensitizing the airways [41,42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-reported Health Effects among Short and Long-term Pesticide Sprayers in Arusha, Northern Tanzania: A cross Sectional Study

Manyilizu¹,

Mdegela²,

Kazwala³

et al. 2015

Occup Med Health Aff

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There is also circumstantial evidence on the association of exposure to pesticides with chronic diseases like respiratory problems, dermal disorders, cardiovascular disease, nephropathies, chronic fatigue syndrome and aging [1]. Since health-workers are not adequately trained to identify adverse effects of pesticides [22,23] and because of the Abstract Background: The aim of the present study was to assess whether long-term exposure to pesticides is associated with adverse health effects in professional pesticide sprayers. Methods:The study was conducted in Lake Eyasi Basin and Ngarenanyuki in Arusha region, during the dry season in September-October 2013. In a cross-sectional study, 97 short-term exposed men with at most three months as professional sprayers were compared with 60 long-term exposed men with experience of at least five years as professional sprayers. The study participants were aged 18-30 years, drawn from the same source population and interviewed using semi structured questionnaire. The questions focused on spraying procedures and on present and recurrent medical history including presence of selected six known pesticide induced health conditions. Results:Organophosphates, carbamates, dithiocarbamates and pyrethroids were the most applied insecticides but also organochlorine fungicides and endosulfan were frequently applied. The majority of the sprayers reported unsafe pesticide use. Mean pesticide uses in litres, spray frequency per crop and per week were 637, and 1.3 respectively for about 270 days a year. Respiratory disease symptoms were the most frequently reported (46/157; 29.3%) followed by skin (27/157; 17.2%), and sight (24/157; 15.3%). When adjusted for age and other predictors, long-term exposed sprayers had significantly higher self-reported occurrences of peripheral neuropathy (OR=7.7, CI95%: 1.045-56.728, p=0.045) and respiratory disorders (OR=0.2, CI95%: 0.067-0.501, p=0.001) compared with short-term exposed. Furthermore, 10 sprayers, all long-term exposed reported poor libido and erection problems. Conclusions: These findings document lack of safety knowledge, safe pesticide management and the implementation of protective measures as well as suggesting that long-term exposure to pesticides increase the risk of experience disease conditions compared to short-term exposure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-reported Health Effects among Short and Long-term Pesticide Sprayers in Arusha, Northern Tanzania: A cross Sectional Study

Manyilizu¹,

Mdegela²,

Kazwala³

et al. 2015

Occup Med Health Aff

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Though the use of pesticides provides unquestionable benefits to farmers and enhances the antioxidant potential in medicinal plants (Abdul Jaleel, Gopi, Manivannan, & Panneerselvam, 2008), the major drawback associated with its application is its toxicity. Some pesticides are known to cause birth defects, affect the functioning of central nervous system, respiratory system, endocrine system and long term exposure to pesticides, beyond tolerance limits, are reported to induce cancer known or probable carcinogens or highly toxic (de Brito Sa Stoppelli & Crestana, 2005;Salameh, Waked, Baldi, Brochard, & Saleh, 2006). Considering the lethal effects of pesticides on human health, their residues in food commodities are issues of public concern and are regulated by several legislations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A novel optimised and validated method for analysis of multi-residues of pesticides in fruits and vegetables by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE)–dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE)–retention time locked (RTL)–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with Deconvolution reporting software (DRS)

2011

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“…Respiratory diseases: asthma and chronic bronchitis Regarding respiratory diseases, asthma was studied in four studies [25][26][27][28] and chronic bronchitis or COPD were investigated in three studies [26,27,29].…”

Section: Studies On Agricultural Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the subjects' responses, three types of exposure (occupational, para-occupational, and domestic or living next to a farm) were defined. All the studies were cross-sectional except those of SALAMEH and co-workers [28,29], which were case-control studies. FVC: forced vital capacity; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FEF25-75%: forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.…”

Section: Studies On Agricultural Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory health

et al. 2015

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This article aims to review the available literature regarding the link between occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory symptoms or diseases. Identification of epidemiological studies was performed using PubMed. 41 articles were included, 36 regarding agricultural workers and five regarding industry workers.Among the 15 cross-sectional studies focusing on respiratory symptoms and agricultural pesticide exposure, 12 found significant associations with chronic cough, wheeze, dyspnoea, breathlessness or chest tightness. All four studies on asthma found a relationship with occupational exposure, as did all three studies on chronic bronchitis. The four studies that performed spirometry reported impaired respiratory function linked to pesticide exposure, suggestive of either obstructive or restrictive syndrome according to the chemical class of pesticide.12 papers reported results from cohort studies. Three out of nine found a significant relationship with increased risk of wheeze, five out of nine with asthma and three out of three with chronic bronchitis. In workers employed in pesticide production, elevated risks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (two studies out of three) and impaired respiratory function suggestive of an obstructive syndrome (two studies out of two) were reported.In conclusion, this article suggests that occupational exposure to pesticides is associated with an increased risk of respiratory symptoms, asthma and chronic bronchitis, but the causal relationship is still under debate. @ERSpublications A review of occupational (agricultural and industry) exposure to pesticides and associated respiratory health effects http:///ow.ly/M09Gc

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Respiratory diseases and pesticide exposure: a case-control study in Lebanon

Abstract: Results are comparable to those found in other studies; especially for occupational exposure. Pesticides toxicological effects may explain chronic respiratory symptoms and asthma associations found with all exposure types. Pesticide exposure was associated with asthma in Lebanese adults.

Cited by 50 publications

References 24 publications

Self-reported Health Effects among Short and Long-term Pesticide Sprayers in Arusha, Northern Tanzania: A cross Sectional Study

Self-reported Health Effects among Short and Long-term Pesticide Sprayers in Arusha, Northern Tanzania: A cross Sectional Study

Occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory health

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