A Preliminary Evaluation of the Kidney Function of Sugarcane Cutters From Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate clinical parameters, markers of kidney function, and skeletal muscle damage in a group of sugarcane cutters during harvesting season. Methods: Seventeen volunteers were assessed for anthropometrics and cardiorespiratory fitness. Blood and urine samples were collected 48-hours after the last work session. Blood was analyzed for glucose, creatine kinase, cholesterol, and a complete hemogram. Urine and blood samples were also analyzed for markers related to kidney function. Results: Volunteers were young (26 ± 6 y), had low body fat (13 ± 5%), and good cardiorespiratory fitness (41 ± 6 mL/kg/min). Classical markers of kidney function (eGFR, creatinine, cystatin C) were within the normal range. However, ten volunteers presented elevated resting serum creatine kinase (221 ± 68 U/L). Conclusion: Manual sugarcane harvesting is associated with sustained skeletal muscle damage which may increase the risk for kidney injury in Brazilian sugarcane cutters.

Answer to the letter to the editor

“…Dr Tomoyoki also referred to some research on clinical indicators (Diniz et al 2021, Hansson et al 2022) and the effects of prolonged heat stress (Lucas et al 2022). Since our study focused on the post-tropical cyclone conditions and the comparison of manual harvesting in lodged and unlogged crops in these conditions, both tasks had the same weather conditions, which eliminates the consideration of heat stress for the comparison.…”

Inflammation-Related Factors Identified as Biomarkers of Dehydration and Subsequent Acute Kidney Injury in Agricultural Workers

“…The condition can be caused by the high core body temperature associated with heat stroke (Carter et al, 2005; Keltz et al, 2013), as well as by strenuous, repetitive exertion (Patel et al, 2009), but clinical rhabdomyolysis is not regularly documented in agricultural workers. It has been demonstrated, however, that muscle-damaging exercise augments acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with exertion and heat exposure (Junglee et al, 2013), and there is speculation that sub-clinical muscle breakdown could increase the risk of recurrent AKI and CKD u among agricultural workers (Diniz et al, 2020; Hansson et al, 2020).…”