Health Problems and Reproductive outcomes of Women Agricultural Workers Exposed to Organophosphate Pesticides

Abstract

Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are a group of toxic insecticides used in agriculture for protection against pests. They persist as environmental contaminants and pose significant risk to human health by causing respiratory system disorders, nervous system disorders, reproductive disorders and certain cancers. In the present study epidemiological and reproductive performance data of 500 women agricultural workers exposed to OP pesticides and 500 age and sex matched controls with same socio economic status was evaluated using standard questionnaire. Serum paraoxonase levels were analyzed by ELISA kit method. Statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in the frequency of abortions, stillbirths, neonatal deaths and congenital defects in the offspring of the exposed group when compared to the controls. There was a decrease in the frequency of fertile females and live births were observed in the exposed group when compared to the data from controls. Serum paraoxonase levels were also significantly low in the exposed group (7.61 ng/mL) when compared to control group (13.09ng/mL).The findings suggest that prolonged exposure to organophosphate pesticides with low serum PON1 levels may induce adverse health and reproductive problems in women agricultural workers.