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The Human Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure

The Human Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure. Acute Effects Skin Problems Respiratory Problems Reproduction Risks to Children Nervous System Cancers. Agriculture in Asia. A Typical North Vietnamese Farming Village. Focus on OP’s. Children at risk for neurodevelopmental problems

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The Human Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure

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  1. The Human Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure • Acute Effects • Skin Problems • Respiratory Problems • Reproduction • Risks to Children • Nervous System • Cancers

  2. Agriculture in Asia A Typical North Vietnamese Farming Village

  3. Focus on OP’s • Children at risk for neurodevelopmental problems • Most commonly used insecticide in agriculture • Common cause of poisoning

  4. nerve cell After electrical nerve impulse transmission is completed, the body produces cholinesterase. Cholinesterase breaks up acetylcholine into acetate and choline. Electrical nerve impulse coming from nerve cell stimulates the body to produce acetylcholine. Acetylcholine acts as a bridge transmitting the electrical charge to the muscle cell. Muscles and glands contract. acetate choline muscle cell Normal Electrical Nerve Impulse Transmission Once acetylcholine is broken, it can no longer transmit electrical nerve impulses. Electrical nerve impulses stop and the muscles and glands are quiet

  5. Organophosphate-Carbamate Disruption of Electrical Nerve Impulse Transmission Therapeutic Effect of Atropine nerve cell Electrical nerve impulse acetate choline cholinesterase organophosphate atropine muscle cell If an organophosphate (Op) or carbamate is present, they bind with cholinesterase. [This is an irreversible effect with an Op but not with a carbamate] The bound cholinesterase cannot penetrate acetylcholine to break it up. The body continues to produce acetylcholine unimpeded. This results in a build up of acetylcholine with continuous electrical nerve impulse transmission and over stimulation of muscle and glands. Atropine relieves the over stimulation of the muscles and glands by reducing the amounts of acetylcholine. The effect only lasts 15 minutes. Therefore the dose must be repeated until the organophosphate binding effect has worn off.

  6. Signs and Symptoms in Adults Heart Eye CNS Lungs GI Glands Muscle • Fatigue • Dizziness • Headache • Tremors • Ataxia • Seizures • LOC • Coma • Insomnia • Mental Δ Tightness Wheezing Cough Rhinorrhea Weakness Cramps Fasciculations Tachy Brady  BP ↓ BP Abd. cramps Nausea Vomiting Diarrhea Drooling Sweating Tearing Exercise: Body Mapping

  7. Parathion Story On the day her house was sprayed, previously healthy girl 4 months of age became irritable and seemed congested in her upper airway, with a thick whitish nasal discharge. Over the next several days these symptoms persisted, and she began to refuse food, developed a fever, more frequent bowel movements, and decreased sleep. On day 6, she was brought to the emergency department (ED) and was given iv antibiotics, fluids, oxygen, and a series of tests to determine infection status. She was discharged with a diagnosis of upper respiratory infection and a prescription for an antibiotic.That night the child got worse paramedics were called and she was transported by air ambulance to a pediatric intensive care unit . She was sleepy, dehydrated, and had black, foul-smelling stools showing blood coming from the upper intestines. The diagnosis was dehydration and high salt in her blood (sodium). She remained in the hospital for more than 1 week, receiving fluids and antibiotics. She was discharged home without medications, but she continued to have abnormal head movement. Fourteen months later her home was evaluated for methyl parathion contamination, and her urinary metabolite of methyl parathion was 89 . The general population reference range is 0-63.

  8. Signs of Pesticide Poisoning in a CHILD Seizures Lethargic sleepy Coma Can be confused with the flu

  9. Respiratory Problems • Organophosphates and carbamates inhibit cholinesterase resulting in • Constriction of the bronchial tubes • Increased secretions • Difficulty in breathing • Many pesticides are ‘sensitizers’ causing allergic reactions along with OTHER triggers • dusts, pollens, animals, diesel, molds, grains, hay, disinfectants

  10. Typical Pesticide Application North Vietnam

  11. Respiratory Problems • Insecticide related wheezing with*: • parathion • chlorpyriphos • malathion • Herbicide related wheezing with*: • paraquat • atrazine • alachlor • chlorimuron ethyl (Classic) • EPTC • Children exposed to pesticides in 1st year of life 4.5x greater risk of developing asthma before age 5. *Source: Agriculture Health Study: http://www.aghealth.org/

  12. Transplanting Rice West Sumatra, Indonesia

  13. Skin Disorders • Dermatitis with any pesticide • Allergic • Contact • 12%-68% prevalence of skin problems in agriculture • Paraquat irritant/burn = 53% applicators in one study* • Chloracne from dioxins: 2,4,5 –T (Agent Orange) and possibly 2,4 –D, diuron, linuron (Viktor Yushchenko * Source: Castro-Gutierrez N, McConnell R, Andersson K, Pacheco-Anton F, Hogstedt,C. Respiratory symptoms, spirometry and chronic occupational paraquat exposure. Scand J Work Environ Health 1997;23:421–427.

  14. Paraquat Application by Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand Mae Sot, Thailand

  15. Skin Disorders • Soil fumigants can cause irritant dermatitis and chemical burns • methyl bromide • dichloropropene (Telone) • Metam sodium • Herbicide induced contact or allergic dermatitis • miticide propargite • paraquat and diquat • Fungicide induced contact or allergic dermatitis • Maneb • Mancozed • Zineb • Sulfur • Ziram • Benomyl • Captan Source: Solomon G, Ogunseitan OA, Kirsch A. Pesticides and Human Health: A Resource for Health Care Professionals. PSR. 2000.

  16. Methamidiphos Contact Dermatitis North Vietnam

  17. Severe Contact DermatitisCartap + [Fenobucarb, Dimethoate and Methyl Parathion x 20 yrs] Prey Vang, Cambodia

  18. Pesticides Associated to Allergic Contact Dermatitis* *Source: M.A. O’Malley, Skin reactions to pesticides, Occup Med State Art Rev 12 ([1997]2): 327–45.

  19. Mixing Pesticides Siem Riep Province, Cambodia

  20. Reproductive Effects • Birth defects: Difficult to study but consist findings w/ • Limb reductions - Uro-genital defects • Central nervous system • Cleft palates/lips • Eye – heart defects • Glyphosate: 3.6 risk of neurobehavioral problems in offspring • Time to Pregnancy: occupational exposure increase time needed to get pregnant • 20%  in women engaged in pesticide activities • Dicamba, glyphosate, 2,4-D, thiocarbamates, OP’s.

  21. Growth Monitoring Clinic Lombok, Indonesia

  22. Reproductive Effects • Small for Age Births: 7/10 studies + • Fetal and maternal blood samples for Op by products and newborn lengths • Chlorpyrifos and diazon residentially ~ lower birth weight and length* • Fetal deaths (still births, neonatal death, or miscarriages) • 9/11 studies + • Strong association to miscarriages farming households using conventional pesticides 3 months before conception compared to IPM farms * Source: Whyatt RM et al. Biomarkers in assessing residential insecticide exposures during pregnancy and effects on fetal growth.Tox Applied Pharm 206 (2): 246-254 AUG 7 2005

  23. New York Study Following 700 mother/baby pairs for 7 years. • mother’s air intake for pesticides • mother’s blood • umbilical cord blood of baby

  24. New York City Study • Fetal exposure to chlorpyrifos is associated with lower birth-weight and birth length • Same effect as SMOKING- as if the mother was a heavy smoker • At age 3 those more exposed had delayed movement and mental skills and attention deficits – temporary?

  25. California Studies 600 pregnant Latina women farm working families living in Salinas, a heavy agriculture area. • OP by-products in urine during pregnancy and after delivery • Birth outcomes

  26. California Study OP pesticide by products in during DURING pregnancy associated to: • Shorter pregnancy – early deliveries • Abnormal reflexes at birth • Now watching these children’s nervous system as they grow

  27. Summary Long Term Effects of OP’s • Length of gestation is shorter in women with higher organophosphate pesticide exposures • Newborns of mothers with higher organophosphate pesticide exposures have more abnormal reflexes • Pre-natal chlorpyrifos exposure is associated with reduced birth-weight and birth length • Children exposed to highest exposures had significantly higher risk of motor and cognitive delay compared to those with lowest exposures • Using child behavior checklist, highest exposed group had symptoms of inattentive disorder.

  28. Some Important Facts • The younger you are the worse the consequences of OP exposure for development • Fetus • Soon after birth • Nerve system affected • Levels so low that they do not inhibit ChE but still effect neural development.

  29. A Women’s Health Project Andhra Pradesh, India

  30. Risks to Children • Asthma • Brain and kidney tumors • Leukemia • Neuro-developmental problems • Small for age at birth • Congenital defects

  31. Health History Interviewing Batambang Province, Cambodia

  32. Neurological and Mental Health • Depression, emotional disorders and suicides • Earlier poisonings ~ minor depression • Canada suicides ~ pesticide use • Subtle diminished function of nervous system • Occur after severe acute poisonings • Chronic low level exposure • Parkinson’s Disease [genetics + environmental exposures] • Consistent evidence w/ past occupational exposures • Mixed pesticides /herbicides investigated

  33. Animal Studies(rodents) Rodents exposed to low levels of OP’s over a long time during pregnancy and right after birth: • Problems with gait • Tremors • Balance problems • Run into cliffs • Cannot right themselves Eskenazi B. Exposures of children to organophosphate pesticides and their potential adverse health effects. EHP 1999;107 (Suppl 3):409-419

  34. Cancers • Brain tumors: 1.7 risk with a dose - response (more pesticide use the higher the risk) 323,292 offspring of Norwegian farmers • Breast (?): 1.8 x risk sprayed field, 2.0 x if not use PPE • Kidney: children of occupationally exposed men 1.59 x risk. Mortality rate 502 in pentachlorophenol chemical company workers Source: Sanborn M, Cole D, Kerr K, Vakil C, Sanin LH, Bassil K. Pesticides Literature Review. Ontario College of Family Physicians. Toronto 2004.

  35. Cancers • Pancreatic: Aerial applicators (9,961) 2.71x risk than flight instructors (9969) • Prostate: 55,322 male applicators 3.75 risk > age 50 with methyl bromide or chlorinated pesticides (organochlorines like DDT or endosulfan) • Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma [Immunologic + environmental factors]: 23/27 studies positive.2-4 D a precipitant. • Leukemia14/16 studies positive

  36. IPM School Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

  37. Occupational Hazards of Pesticide Studies

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