Pesticides are associated with allergic and non-allergic wheeze among male farmers [2015]

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alavanja M ; Beane Freeman L ; Blair, Austin ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Hoppin JA ; London SJ ; Long S ; Sandler DP ; Umbach DM
• Description:
  Rationale: Farmers are at high risk for respiratory symptoms that may predict future adverse respiratory outcomes. While hays, grains, and animals are believed to be the primary causes of respiratory symptoms among farmers, evidence is growing that pesticides may also contribute. Our previous work suggested that allergic and non-allergic asthma were associated with exposure to specific pesticides. Methods: We used data from the 2005-2010 interview of the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), a prospective study of farmers and their spouses in North Carolina and Iowa, to evaluate recent pesticide use and two types of wheeze (allergic and non-allergic) among men in the cohort. We used polytomous regression models adjusted for age, BMI, state, smoking, and current asthma, as well as overall frequency of pesticide application and driving diesel tractors to evaluate 80 specific chemicals reported by > 1% of the 22,134 men who completed the interview. Exposure to individual pesticides were characterized both as dichotomous (current use in the past year - yes/no) and categories of days/year used. Allergic wheeze was defined as reporting both wheeze and current allergy symptoms (n=1310, 6%), while non-allergic wheeze was defined as reporting wheeze but not current allergy symptoms (n=3939, 18%); those without wheeze (76%) served as the referent group. Results: In models evaluating current pesticide use, 21 pesticides were significantly (p<0.05) associated with non-allergic wheeze (2 negative, 19 positive) and 17 pesticides were significantly associated with allergic wheeze (1 negative, 16 positive); ten pesticides were significantly associated with both. Seven pesticides (carbaryl, zeta-cypermethrin, dimethoate, 2,4-D, simazine, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, and pyraclostrobin) had significantly different odds ratios for allergic and non-allergic wheeze, with all but fenoxaprop-p-ethyl being elevated for allergic wheeze. Associations with wheeze differed by chemical class with some types of herbicides (e.g., acetic acid herbicides) being more likely to be associated with wheeze than other types of herbicides. We saw evidence of a positive exposure response relationship for a number of chemicals. Conclusion: Because some of the pesticides that our analysis suggested might contribute to wheeze among farmers are widely used in residential settings (permethrin, carbaryl, 2,4-D, glyphosate), future studies should explore the potential respiratory health consequences of these chemicals in residential users. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Asthma Asthma, Occupational Farmers Herbicides Hypersensitivity Insecticides Men Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  2,4-D Acetic Acid Agricultural Workers Allergens Allergic Reactions Analytical Models Analytical Processes Bronchial Asthma Carbaryl Chemical Agents Farm Workers Health Surveys Occupational Asthma Pesticides Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals Regression Analysis Respiratory System Disorders Simazine

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• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  191
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048528
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2015 May; 191(Abstract Issue):A6263
• Contact Point Address:
  J. Hoppin, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
• Email:
  jahoppin@ncsu.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  (2,4-Dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (CAS RN 94-75-7) ; Acetic acid (CAS RN 64-19-7) ; Carbaryl (CAS RN 63-25-2) ; Cypermethrin (CAS RN 52315-07-8) ; Dimethoate (CAS RN 60-51-5) ; Fenoxaprop P-ethyl (CAS RN 71283-80-2) ; Glyphosate (CAS RN 1071-83-6) ; Permethrin (CAS RN 52645-53-1) ; Pyraclostrobin (CAS RN 175013-18-0) ; Simazine (CAS RN 122-34-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• Supplement:
  Abstract Issue
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:553f679b5d3a1f77f991550012cb2b1eba4928415dc1ae2ef3152cf9fe7a0b74b85a7c912ee75ad1f1c9066b110825c5aa052515cf8e9514262f2848ced55204
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203268/cdc_203268_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 17.88 KB ]