title: Occupational exposure to pesticides as a possible risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in humans (Review).
abstract: It is well known that pesticides are widely used compounds. In fact, their use in agriculture, forestry, fishery and the food industry has granted a huge improvement in terms of productive efficiency. However, a great number of epidemiological surveys have demonstrated that these toxic compounds can interact and exert negative effects not only with their targets (pests, herbs and fungi), but also with the rest of the environment, including humans. This is particularly relevant in the case of workers involved in the production, transportation, preparation and application of these toxicants. Accordingly, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the correlation between occupational exposure to pesticides and the development of a wide spectrum of pathologies, ranging from eczema to neurological diseases and cancer. Pesticide exposure is often quite difficult to establish, as many currently used modules do not take into account all of the many variables that can occur in a diverse environment, such as the agricultural sector, and the assessment of the real risk for every single worker is problematic. Indeed, the use of personal protection equipment is necessary while handling these toxic compounds, but education of workers can be even more important: personal contamination with pesticides may occur even in apparently harmless situations. This review summarises the most recent findings describing the association between pesticide occupational exposure and the development of chronic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gangemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teodoro
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Giusi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Briguglio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alibrando
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Polito
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Laboratory of Translational Oncology and Functional Genomics, Section of General and Clinical Pathology and Oncology, University of Catania, I‑95124 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Libra
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004485:Eczema / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides