Alterações Hematológicas E Bioquímicas Em Indivíduos Expostos a Agrotóxicos: Impacto Da Exposição Direta Versus Indireta

Abstract

It is known that individuals directly exposed to pesticides are more susceptible to changes in hematological and biochemical parameters. However, there are no studies comparing the effects of direct and indirect exposure to pesticides on such parameters. This study aimed to verify if individuals indirectly, but still massively exposed to pesticides due to residing or working in agricultural areas with intense pesticide application, exhibit hematological and biochemical alterations. Analyses were conducted on 62 individuals exposed to pesticides residing in a municipality located in the Midwest region of Brazil, with half of them being rural workers directly exposed (occupationally) and the remaining indirectly exposed. Besides hematological and biochemical parameters, sociodemographic, clinical, and occupational parameters were analyzed to discard biases in the study. No significant differences were found regarding the type of exposure in hematological parameters. However, in biochemical parameters, individuals directly exposed to pesticides showed a higher frequency of altered levels of cholinesterase, as well as higher levels of AST, ALT, and GGT compared to those indirectly exposed to pesticides (p<0.05), the latter also in relation to normality parameters. Total cholesterol, VLDL, and triglycerides were significantly elevated in both groups, possibly due to the overweight of the participants. Therefore, this study showed that individuals indirectly exposed to pesticides, although considerably exposed to large quantities of pesticides daily, undergo fewer biochemical alterations than workers directly exposed. However, these results do not exclude the need for monitoring these individuals, nor the possibility of alterations due to indirect pesticide exposure. Further studies involving comparison between rural populations exposed directly and indirectly to pesticides should be conducted in other populations, as exposure profiles may differ from each location due to differences in pesticide loads and application frequencies employed.