Pulmonary Division, Heart Institute (Incor), Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
Sci Total Environ. 2012 Oct 15;437:200-8. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.069. Epub 2012 Aug 30.
Non-mechanised sugarcane harvesting preceded by burning exposes workers and the people of neighbouring towns to high concentrations of pollutants. This study was aimed to evaluate the respiratory symptoms, lung function and oxidative stress markers in sugarcane workers and the residents of Mendonça, an agricultural town in Brazil, during the non-harvesting and harvesting periods and to assess the population and individual exposures to fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)). Sugarcane workers and healthy volunteers were evaluated with two respiratory symptom questionnaires, spirometry, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels, and the measurement of antioxidant enzymes and plasma malonaldehyde during the non-harvesting and harvesting periods. The environmental assessment was determined from PM(2.5) concentration. PM(2.5) level increased from 8 μg/m³ during the non-harvesting period to 23.5 μg/m³ in the town and 61 μg/m³ on the plantations during the harvesting period. Wheezing, coughing, sneezing, and breathlessness increased significantly in both groups during the harvesting period, but more markedly in workers. A decrease in lung function and antioxidant enzyme activity was observed in both populations during harvesting; this decrease was greater among the sugarcane workers. The urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels only increased in the sugarcane workers during the harvesting period. The malonaldehyde levels were elevated in both groups, with a higher increase observed in the workers. This research demonstrates the exposure of sugarcane workers and the inhabitants of a neighbouring town to high PM(2.5) concentrations during the sugarcane harvest period. This exposure was higher among the sugarcane workers, as illustrated by both higher PM(2.5) concentrations in the sugarcane fields and higher urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels in the volunteers in this group. The higher incidence of respiratory symptoms, greater decrease in lung function and more marked elevation of oxidative stress markers among the sugarcane workers during the harvest confirms the greater effect magnitude in this population and a dose-dependent relationship between pollution and the observed effects.
在非机械化收割之前进行燃烧会使工人和邻近城镇的居民暴露在高浓度的污染物中。本研究旨在评估巴西农业城镇门东萨（Mendonça）在非收割期和收割期的甘蔗工人和居民的呼吸症状、肺功能和氧化应激标志物，并评估人群和个体对细颗粒物（PM（2.5））的暴露情况。在非收割期和收割期，对甘蔗工人和健康志愿者进行了两项呼吸症状问卷、肺功能检查、尿液 1-羟基芘水平以及抗氧化酶和血浆丙二醛的测量。环境评估是根据 PM（2.5）浓度确定的。PM（2.5）水平从非收割期的 8μg/m³增加到收割期城镇的 23.5μg/m³和种植园的 61μg/m³。在收割期，两组的喘息、咳嗽、打喷嚏和呼吸困难均显著增加，但工人组更为明显。两组人群在收割期的肺功能和抗氧化酶活性均下降；在甘蔗工人中，这种下降更为明显。只有在收割期，甘蔗工人的尿液 1-羟基芘水平才会增加。两组的丙二醛水平均升高，工人组的升高更为明显。这项研究表明，在甘蔗收获期间，甘蔗工人和邻近城镇居民都暴露在高浓度的 PM（2.5）中。在甘蔗工人中，这种暴露更为严重，因为在甘蔗田中，工人的 PM（2.5）浓度更高，而在这一组的志愿者中，尿液 1-羟基芘水平也更高。在收割期，甘蔗工人的呼吸症状发生率更高，肺功能下降更为明显，氧化应激标志物升高更为明显，这证实了该人群的影响幅度更大，污染与观察到的影响之间存在剂量-反应关系。
