Risk assessment of pesticide exposure on health of Pakistani tobacco farmers

Abstract

Tobacco is an important cash crop of Pakistan. Pesticides are commonly used to increase the crop yield, but their health impact has not been studied yet. The objectives of the study were to determine the frequency of pesticide poisoning and to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards safety measures among the tobacco farmers in Swabi, Pakistan. One hundred and five tobacco farmers involved in pesticide application were randomly selected from two villages of district Swabi. A structured questionnaire was used for clinical and KAP information. Plasma cholinesterase (PChE) levels were measured by Ellman's method by using GD Italy kits. All tobacco farmers were males with a mean (SD) age of 26 (9) years. The majority of the farmers reported multiple symptoms headache, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, muscle weakness and skin rash correlate with the clinically significant depression of PChE levels. Out of 105 pesticide applicators, 58 (55%) had post-exposure reduction in PChE levels o20% from baseline, 35 (33%) had mild poisoning (20-40% reduction) and 12 (11%) had moderate poisoning (440% reduction). Most of the farmers did not use any personal protective equipment during pesticide handling. Only a few used shoes (31%), masks (14%) and gloves (9%) during pesticide spray. In conclusion, the tobacco farmers had mild to moderate pesticide poisoning, which was correlated with depression in PChE levels. Moreover, most farmers had little knowledge about the safety measures, casual attitude and unsatisfactory safety practices with regard to the use of basic protective equipments during pesticide applications on the tobacco crop.

Chemical Biomarker Study of Negative Physiological Effects of Insecticides on Pakistani Farm Workers Health in the Central Punjab

“…45 Several other studies have also suggested a decrease in BChE level in response to exposure to organophosphates. 46,47 Similarly, in other parts of the developing world, including Mexico, Kenya, and Bangladesh, similar findings have been reported. 45,48,49 Varying responses of the populations exposed to insecticides by varying degree indicate that the impact rendered on part of these insecticides depends on a number of factors, such as the duration of exposure, the use of protective measures, etc.…”

Planejamento familiar: uma base de dados Family planning: a database

“…19,28 In another study of tobacco growers involved in the application of pesticides during the tobacco harvest in two districts of Swabi, Pakistan, blood collection data for analysis of levels of plasma cholinesterase (PChE) found that 58 (55%) of PChE levels were normal, 35 (33%) presented mild intoxication and 12 (11%) presented moderate intoxication. 29 It was observed symptoms like headache, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, muscle weakness and skin rashes during and after spraying pesticide in tobacco cultivation. 29 The most reported symptoms of poisoning among tobacco growers in this study are similar to those reported by other growers, such as headaches (60%), nausea and stomach ache (30%) and poisoning requiring hospitalization resulting from the use of pesticides (10%).…”

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“…Our results are confirmed by those by Magauzi et al (2011) who finds that not being provided with personal protection equipment was associated with an abnormal cholinesterase activity, with the risk increasing from 1.07 to 3.68. Similarly, Khan et al (2010) reports that the absence of personal protection equipment influenced a decrease in cholinesterase activity even though the authors worked on seric acetylcholinesterase.…”