Neurobehavioral performance and work experience in Florida farmworkers.

Abstract

Farmworkers experience many work-related hazards, including exposure to neurotoxicants. We compared neurobehavioral performance of 288 farmworkers in central Florida who had done farm work for at least 1 month with 51 controls who had not. Most of the farmworkers had worked in one or more of three types of agriculture: ornamental ferns, nurseries, or citrus fruit. We collected information on farm work history in a structured interview and evaluated neurobehavioral performance using a battery of eight tests. Analyses were adjusted for established confounders including age, sex, education, and acculturation. Ever having done farm work was associated with poor performance on four tests--digit span [odds ratio (OR) = 1.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-3.53], tapping (coefficient = 4.13; 95% CI, 0.00-8.27), Santa Ana test (coefficient = 1.34; 95% CI, 0.29-2.39), and postural sway (coefficient = 4.74; 95% CI, -2.20 to 11.7)--but had little effect on four others: symbol digit latency, vibrotactile threshold, visual contrast sensitivity, and grip strength. Associations with farm work were similar in magnitude to associations with personal characteristics such as age and sex. Longer duration of farm work was associated with worse performance. Associations with fern work were more consistent than associations with nursery or citrus work. Deficits related to the duration of work experience were seen in former as well as current farmworkers, and decreased performance was related to chronic exposure even in the absence of a history of pesticide poisoning. We conclude that long-term experience of farm work is associated with measurable deficits in cognitive and psychomotor function.

Pesticide poisoning and neurobehavioral function among farm workers in Jiangsu, People's Republic of China

“…Neurobehavioral function was assessed in our study by using the WHO recommended neurobehavioral core test battery (NCTB) (World Health Organization, 1986;Anger, 2003). The NCTB is a widely used assessment established by WHO for early detection of neurotoxicity effects of compounds in the workplace.…”

“…The NCTB is a widely used assessment established by WHO for early detection of neurotoxicity effects of compounds in the workplace. The NCTB provides a set of rapid, stable, and sensitive behavioral tests and is extensively used in neurotoxicology to assess changes of behavior in the presence of neurotoxic chemicals (World Health Organization, 1986;Anger, 2003 …”

Neurotoxic Effects Associated with Current Uses of Organophosphorus Compounds

“…90,91,[127][128][129] Even though intoxication with antiChEs may induce long-term mild changes in neurologic functions, the potential for low-level exposures that lead to chronic neurological changes is even less uncertain and a matter of diverse opinion. At this point, the question arises as to whether or not these effects are caused in doses below those causing acute toxicity or AChE inhibition.…”

Ameliorative Effect of Vitamin E on Sensorimotor and Cognitive Changes Induced by Chronic Chlorpyrifos Exposure in Wistar Rats

“…Studies in humans showed neurological, cognitive and psychomotor impairments following cumulative exposure to OPs and organochlorines in people from agricultural communities, without history of acute poisoning (Kamel & Hoppin 2004;Kamel et al, 2007). Neurobehavioural changes following low-dose OP exposure have been reported in sheep farmers (Stephens et al, 1995), greenhouse workers (Bazylewicz-Walczak et al 1999), tree-fruit workers (Fiedler et al, 1997), and farm workers (Kamel et al, 2003). These studies have found deficits in measures of sustained attention, information processing, motor speed and coordination.…”