title: Low level of exposure to pesticides leads to lung dysfunction in occupationally exposed subjects.
abstract: Pesticides may contribute to adverse respiratory health effects among farmers and have been considered one causal factor for the rise in asthma prevalence. This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate potential respiratory function abnormalities following long-term pesticide exposure by means of a complete pulmonary function testing, including spirometry, lung volumes, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. The study population was comprised by workers from a prominent intensive agriculture area of southern Spain that relied on pesticides for the control of plagues. Eighty-nine pesticide sprayers of plastic greenhouse farming and a control group of 25 nonspraying control farmers from the same area were interviewed by a general practitioner asking about sociodemographic factors, occupational exposure, and clinical symptoms by using a structured questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses showed a relationship of short-term exposure to pesticides (as indicated by a drop in serum cholinesterase > 25% of baseline levels) with reduced forced expired volume in 1 s, and of long-term exposure (as indicated by a cumulative pesticide exposure index) with reduced forced expiratory flow rate. Exposure to bipyridilium-class herbicides was a determinant of a fall in the diffusing capacity of the lungs, and neonicotinoid insecticides showed a relationship with lower pulmonary volumes (total lung capacity, residual volume, and functional residual capacity), suggestive of restrictive lung disease, and with an increased risk of reporting irritative symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Granada Medical School, Granada, Spain. ajerez@ugr.es
authors.forename: Antonio F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Casado
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pena
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Villanueva
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides; D002802:Cholinesterases