A survey of the secondary exposure to organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides and the impact of preventive factors in female villagers

Abstract

Organophosphates (OPs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are two main types of pesticides that are widely used worldwide, and their toxicities have been reported in high-risk individuals, such as farmers and their wives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of mentioned pesticides in farmers' wives (FWs) and compare them with the control group; we also aimed to assess the effect of personal health factors on the biochemical parameters. This case-control study was conducted on two FWs and control groups, consisting of 124 and 62 individuals, respectively. Serum levels of OCPs were measured using gas chromatography (GC) method. In addition, the activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated in all participants. Additionally, the observance of personal health guidelines was assessed. Serum levels of OCPs in the FWs group were significantly higher than the controls. In addition, AChE activity in FWs was significantly lower than the controls. Moreover, it was found that higher levels of education lead to a better observation of most individual health guidelines, which results in reducing the biological adverse effects of pesticides. The results of this study indicated that the use of OCPs, as an illegal pesticide with known toxic and carcinogenic effects, has spread to southern Iran, which may have biological toxic effects. Also, observing the personal health points significantly reduced these complications and it is, therefore, recommended that more attention should be paid to this issue.

Keywords: Acetylcholine esterase; Environmental health; Individual health; Malondialdehyde; Organochlorines; Organophosphates.