Retinal Degeneration and Other Eye Disorders in Wives of Farmer Pesticide Applicators Enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study

Abstract

Retinal degeneration is the leading cause of visual impairment in older adults. An association between retinal degeneration and fungicide use was observed previously among farmer pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study, a large study of farm families from Iowa and North Carolina. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether wives of these farmer pesticide applicators were at increased risk of retinal degeneration. Self-reported cross-sectional data obtained via questionnaire between 1993 and 1997 from 31,173 wives were used. Associations of specific pesticides and groups of pesticides based on function (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and fumigants) or chemical structure (organophosphates, organochlorines, and carbamates) with eye disorders were evaluated using logistic and hierarchical logistic regression analyses. Self-reported retinal degeneration was associated with the wife's fungicide use (odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 3.1) after adjustment for age and state of residence. Specific fungicides that appeared to drive this association were maneb or mancozeb and ziram. No associations between pesticide use and other eye disorders were found. Although these findings for retinal degeneration are based solely on self-reported disease, they are consistent with those reported for farmer pesticide applicators. These findings suggest that exposure to some fungicides and other pesticides may increase the risk of retinal degeneration and warrant further investigation.

A review of pesticide exposure and cancer incidence in the agricultural health study cohort

“…Studies of physical injury (Sprince et al 2002(Sprince et al , 2003a(Sprince et al , 2003b(Sprince et al , 2003c(Sprince et al , 2007, mortality (Blair et al , 2005bLee et al 2007a), respiratory disorders (Hoppin et al 2002aValcin et al 2007), neurologic symptoms , retinal degeneration (Kamel et al 2000;Kirrane et al 2005), diabetes (Montgomery et al 2008;Saldana et al 2007), menstrual cycle characteristics (Farr et al 2004(Farr et al , 2006, hearing loss (Crawford et al 2008), Parkinson's disease (Kamel et al 2007b), changes in serum androgen levels (Martin et al 2002), arthritis (De Roos et al 2005b), depression (Beseler et al 2006(Beseler et al , 2008, and immune responses have also been conducted as part of the AHS but are not discussed in this review.…”

Ocular toxicity from pesticide exposure: A recent review

“…Following adjustment for age and state of residence, there was a significant risk of retinal degeneration in women who had used fungicides (OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.2-3.1). In general, pesticide exposure appeared to be associated with retinal degeneration (23,24).…”

“…The toxic effect of pesticides may be progressive, and over time may cause significant damage to the eyes. A major cause of visual impairment is retinal degeneration, whose occurrence is associated with several risk factors, such as age, hypertension, light exposure, smoking, alcohol, and obesity (23,24). It has been shown that pesticide exposure is also a likely risk factor for the occurrence of retinal degeneration.…”

Herbicides and Pesticides as Potential Pollutants: A Global Problem

“…Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, is caused by some herbicides and fungicides (Costa et al 2008). One of the agricultural health study reported that wives and the applicator farmers of fungicides observed the risks of their retinal deterioration (Kamel et al 2000;Kirrane et al 2005;Hines et al 2008).…”