Paraquat application and respiratory health effects among South Korean farmers

Shil, Eun; Lee, Yun Keun; Moon, Eun Kyeong; Kim, Yong Bae; Lee, Yong Jin; Jeong, Woo Chul; Cho, Eun Young; Lee, Ik Jin; Hur, Jongil; Ha, Mina; Lee, Won Jin

doi:10.1136/oemed-2011-100244

Cited by 41 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A study in Korean farm workers indicated an exposure-response relationship between the risk of restrictive ventilator defects and duration of paraquat application 32. This is comparable to our result of an exposure-response trend between cumulative exposure and risk of FEV 1 /FVC <0.8 though the effect seen in the high exposure group of our study is larger than that observed in the Korean study (ie, ORs of 8.48 and 1.89, respectively).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Occupational pesticide exposure and respiratory health: a large-scale cross-sectional study in three commercial farming systems in Ethiopia

Negatu

Kromhout

Mekonnen

et al. 2016

Thorax

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rationale In the last decade, due to expansion of greenhouses and irrigated farms, the use of pesticides in Ethiopia has increased 6-13-fold leading to potential health risks. Objective To investigate if occupational exposure to pesticides is associated with respiratory health effects in farmers and farm workers from commercial farming systems. Methods We performed two cross-sectional surveys comprising different farming systems. In the first survey we studied respiratory symptoms among 1104 subjects of which 601 were occupationally exposed to pesticides (ie, 256 pesticide applicators, 345 re-entry workers) and 503 unexposed individuals. The second survey, carried out 2 years later in the same farming regions, additionally included lung function measurement and comprised a total of 387 study subjects of which 206 were occupationally exposed to pesticides (142 applicators and 64 re-entry workers) and 180 unexposed individuals. Results We observed increased risks for chronic cough and shortness of breath (OR=3.15, 95% CI 1.56 to 6.36 and OR=6.67, 95% CI 2.60 to 17.58) among the exposed subjects as compared with unexposed individuals in the first survey. These results were corroborated in the second survey where we also observed reductions in FEV 1 (140 mL), forced expiratory flow 25%-75% (550 mL/s) and risk of FEV 1 /FVC ratio <0.8 (OR=4.31, 95% CI 2.11 to 8.81) among pesticide exposed workers. Conclusions These findings indicate an increased risk of adverse respiratory health among workers exposed to pesticides. As those effects occurred in young workers (mean age 27 years) and within a relative short duration of exposure (4 years) implementation of stringent occupational health measures are warranted.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Occupational pesticide exposure and respiratory health: a large-scale cross-sectional study in three commercial farming systems in Ethiopia

Negatu

Kromhout

Mekonnen

et al. 2016

Thorax

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In particular, paraquat was the most used herbicide in South Korea in both frequency and volume and has been a major causative agent leading to acute poisoning death. 36 Related long-term health effects such as depressive symptoms 4 and restrictive ventilatory defects 6 have also been reported among farmers who applied paraquat in South Korea.…”

Section: Identification Of Hazardous Pesticidesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…6 In particular, deaths and illness due to acute pesticide poisoning have posed a major public health problem in South Korea. 7,8 Despite extensive use of agricultural pesticides in South Korea and the gravity of their adverse health effects, little is known about the usage and trends of the agricultural pesticides applied.…”

Section: Agricultural Pesticide Usage and Prioritizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Pesticide Usage and Prioritization in South Korea

Shil

Jeong

2014

Journal of Agromedicine

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to review agricultural pesticide usage and trends and to identify hazardous pesticides for regulation, in terms of public health, in South Korea. The authors collected data on usage and trends of agricultural pesticides through agriculture-related databases. Criteria from the US Environmental Protection Agency classification for carcinogenicity, World Health Organization classification for acute toxicity, and European Union prioritization list for endocrine-disrupting chemicals were used for the hazard categorization of identified individual active ingredients. Pesticides to be prioritized among all pesticides used in South Korea between 2007 and 2011 were selected by taking into account the volume of usage, toxicity, and epidemiological evidence. Annual agricultural use of pesticides has increased rapidly from the 1970s to 1990s in South Korea, but has declined since 2001. The quantity of pesticides used in 2011 was reported as 19,131 tons, and was comprised of 34.7% insecticides, 28.0% fungicides, and 27.1% herbicides. The 50 pesticides with the greatest volume of usage accounted for 82.6% of the total volume of pesticides used between 2007 and 2011, with the most-used active ingredient being machine oil, followed by mancozeb and then paraquat. Organophosphates were the most used among the top 50 pesticides. A total of 24 pesticides were selected for recommendation of intensive regulation in South Korea. In conclusion, the authors described the usage and trends of overall agricultural pesticides, which would serve as a fundamental step forward in managing pesticide in terms of public health. Intensive efforts are required for the prevention of potential health effects from the 24 identified pesticides.

show abstract

“…Among pesticide applicators, several studies showed impairments in respiratory function, especially with paraquat (reduction associated with the number of years of application) [48] and organophosphate, carbamate, neonicotinoid insecticides and bipyridylium herbicides, sometimes with a dose-effect relationship [46].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Working in the agricultural sector was assumed to be equivalent to being exposed to pesticides. However, although only a few studies assessed lifelong pesticide use and calculated cumulative exposure indexes, they all found a dose-effect relationship [32,37,46,48]. Table 2 presents a summary of the longitudinal studies on respiratory health and occupational pesticide exposure.…”

Section: Studies On Agricultural Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory health

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article aims to review the available literature regarding the link between occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory symptoms or diseases. Identification of epidemiological studies was performed using PubMed. 41 articles were included, 36 regarding agricultural workers and five regarding industry workers.Among the 15 cross-sectional studies focusing on respiratory symptoms and agricultural pesticide exposure, 12 found significant associations with chronic cough, wheeze, dyspnoea, breathlessness or chest tightness. All four studies on asthma found a relationship with occupational exposure, as did all three studies on chronic bronchitis. The four studies that performed spirometry reported impaired respiratory function linked to pesticide exposure, suggestive of either obstructive or restrictive syndrome according to the chemical class of pesticide.12 papers reported results from cohort studies. Three out of nine found a significant relationship with increased risk of wheeze, five out of nine with asthma and three out of three with chronic bronchitis. In workers employed in pesticide production, elevated risks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (two studies out of three) and impaired respiratory function suggestive of an obstructive syndrome (two studies out of two) were reported.In conclusion, this article suggests that occupational exposure to pesticides is associated with an increased risk of respiratory symptoms, asthma and chronic bronchitis, but the causal relationship is still under debate. @ERSpublications A review of occupational (agricultural and industry) exposure to pesticides and associated respiratory health effects http:///ow.ly/M09Gc

show abstract

Paraquat application and respiratory health effects among South Korean farmers

Abstract: Our findings suggest a possible association between paraquat application and adverse respiratory health effects among farmers.

Cited by 41 publications

References 27 publications

Occupational pesticide exposure and respiratory health: a large-scale cross-sectional study in three commercial farming systems in Ethiopia

Occupational pesticide exposure and respiratory health: a large-scale cross-sectional study in three commercial farming systems in Ethiopia

Agricultural Pesticide Usage and Prioritization in South Korea

Occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory health

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About