Acetylcholinesterase Activity and Time After a Peak Pesticide-Use Period Among Ecuadorian Children

Details

• Personal Author:
  Al-Delaimy WK ; Alexander BH ; Butcher CR ; Checkoway, Harvey ; Gahagan S ; Suarez-Lopez JR
• Description:
  Purpose: Mother's Day (May) is a holiday with substantial demand for flowers, associated with heightened flower production and escalated pesticide use. The effect of spray seasons on pesticide exposures of children living in agricultural communities but who do not work in agriculture is poorly understood. In this study, we estimated the association of time after Mother's Day harvest with children's acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. AChE is a physiological marker of organophosphate/carbamate pesticide exposures that may take up to 3 months to normalize after its inhibition. Methods: We examined 308 children, aged 4-9 years, in Ecuadorian agricultural communities during a low flower-production season but within 63-100 days (mean: 81.5 days, SD: 10.9) after Mother's Day harvest. We quantified AChE activity (mean: 3.14 U/mL, SD: 0.49) from a single finger-stick sample. Results: We observed positive linear associations between time after the harvest and AChE among participants living near plantations. The associations were strongest among participants living within 233 m [(0.15 U/mL (95% CI 0.02, 0.28)], slightly weaker among participants living within 234-532 m [0.11 U/mL (0.00, 0.23)], and not associated among participants at greater distances. Similar findings were observed across categories of areas of flower plantations within 500 m of homes. Conclusions: These cross-sectional findings suggest that a peak pesticide-use period can decrease AChE activity of children living near plantations. These seasonal pesticide exposures could induce short- and long-term developmental alterations in children. Studies assessing exposures at multiple times in relation to pesticide spray seasons among children who do not work in agriculture are needed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Agriculture Blood Environmental Exposure Hematologic Tests Insecticides Occupational Health Organophosphates Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Acetylcholinesterase Age Groups Agricultural Agricultural Chemicals Author Keywords: Pesticides Blood Samples Children Cholinesterase Exposure Levels Humans Mother's Day Organophosphate Organophosphorus Compounds Organophosphorus Insecticides Organophosphorus Pesticides Pesticides Risk Factors

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• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  175-184
• Volume:
  91
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052897
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2018 Feb; 91(2):175-184
• Contact Point Address:
  Jose Ricardo Suarez.Lopez, Division of Global Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego. 9500 Gilman Drive #0725, La Jolla, CA 92093-0725
• Email:
  jrsuarez@ucsd.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070930
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20090531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:53600d09fb298e29919d2ddb0f562860fdf6e6dac5385842b855ae4c973941c9b47bed9f450cc8857cb54ff602d67c1843fa682f15725492fde6881a6ec58ab9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215803/cdc_215803_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 603.10 KB ]