Genotoxic, Biochemical Biomarkers and Perceived Health in Terrestrial Pesticide Aplicators in Córdoba, Argentina.

MUÑOZ, SONIA EDITH; BUTINOF, MARIANA; FERNANDEZ, RICARDO; LERDA, DANIEL; LANTIERI, MARIA JOSEFINA; BLANCO, MARCELO; FRANCHINI, GERMAN; GIECO, MARBELA; FILIPPI, IOHANNA; MONTEDORO, FRANCO; PORTILLA, MARY; DIAZ, MARÍA DEL PILAR

Sao Paulo

Congreso; 27th Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Addressing Environmental Health Inequalities; 2015

University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine (FMUSP) and the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (ABRASCO)

Pesticides are a central aspect of agricultural modern practices. Almost 90% of the total the total applied is deposited in abiotic components and non-target organisms, affecting Public Health and the environment. It is widely known that some of them can inhibit enzymes activity, are genotoxic or cause immunological disorders, effects that can be associated with cancer, neurological, neuro-cognitive and reproductive disorders, endocrine disruption and congenital malformations. The risks of chronic toxicity occur frequently in agricultural workers. In Argentina agricultural activity is the main source of country income and pesticide use has not been extensively studied in relation to health risks. We enrolled 47 exposed and 52 non-exposed subjects in the frame of the terrestrial pesticides applicators study (ATePAS) being conducted in Córdoba, to study genotoxic and biochemical parameters as effect biomarkers of chronic exposure and perceived health. A questionnaire including bio-socio-cultural characteristics, perceived health symptoms, blood and urinary samples were obtained. Genotoxic damage was evaluated by Chromosomical Aberrations (CA), Sister Chromatid Exchange (SCE), Micronuclei (MN) and Comet (C) assays; selected enzymatic alterations were also assessed. The presence of general clinical, cardio-respiratory and dermal were significant different among exposed and non exposed. Visual disorders were, however, associated to age. The presence of neurological or gastric symptoms did not differ among groups. Both groups had similar biochemical parameters. Significant higher genotoxic damage was found in exposed as indicated by SCE, MN, CA and C assays. (With 2.99; 2,72; 0.86 and 19 points higher respectively). Genotoxic damage was not associated with any perceived clinical symptoms, except for those subjects with cardio respiratory symptoms, perhaps due to chance. These preliminary results motivate the future monitoring of these subjects through a cohort study.