Adu Patrick, Forkuo Eric Kumah, Issah Abubakari, Asumadu Isaac Owusu, Cadman-Sackey Emmanuel, Quarshie Augustina A A, Gyabaa Sampson, Ephraim Richard K D
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Medical Laboratory Unit, Ewim Polyclinic, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Int J Nephrol. 2019 Sep 30;2019:5368427. doi: 10.1155/2019/5368427. eCollection 2019.
The quest to enhance agricultural productivity and crop yields has led to increased use of agrochemicals on a global scale. Long-term use of these agrochemicals may be associated with adverse health implications.
To assess haematological indices, renal function, heavy metal bioaccumulation in farmers and sprayers, and their use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
This community-based case-control study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2018 in the Assin South District, Central Region, Ghana. A total of 144 participants were conveniently sampled: 83 agricultural workers (cases) and 61 indigenes with no direct exposure to agrochemicals (controls). Structured questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data as well as agricultural work practices followed by cases. Venous blood samples were drawn from participants and used for estimating full blood count and renal function (serum creatinine (CRE), blood-urea nitrogen (BUN), BUN : CRE ratio, and estimated GFR (eGFR)). Serum lead, arsenic, and cadmium levels were estimated using the Varian AA 240FS atomic spectrometer in an acetylene-air flame.
The median RBC (4.49 vs. 4.92 × 10/L), haemoglobin (12.50 vs. 13.70 g/dL), and platelet (220.00 vs. 268.00) counts were significantly lower in cases. A significantly higher proportion of cases were classified as anaemic or having microcytic cells compared to controls. Also, serum urea (4.08 vs. 3.41; =0.0009), creatinine (108.10 vs. 101.10; =0.0286), and BUN : CRE ratio (19.75 vs. 17.84) were significantly higher in cases. Additionally, 18.1% of cases were classified as having moderately reduced renal function compared to only 6.6% of controls. Moreover, a significantly higher proportion of cases had detectable serum lead (55.6% vs. 16.4%) and arsenic (53.1% vs. 9.8%) levels compared to controls. However, on average, 80% of agricultural workers did not use personal protective equipment (PPE) when applying agrochemicals; 84.3% of used agrochemical containments were discarded near the river/canal.
Neglect of the use of PPE may be predisposing the agrochemical workers and community to lead and arsenic bioaccumulation with a consequent reduced haematological and renal function.
提高农业生产力和作物产量的需求导致全球范围内农用化学品的使用增加。长期使用这些农用化学品可能会对健康产生不利影响。
评估农民和喷雾器操作人员的血液学指标、肾功能、重金属生物累积情况以及他们个人防护装备（PPE）的使用情况。
这项基于社区的病例对照研究于2018年1月至2018年6月在加纳中部地区的阿辛南区进行。总共方便抽样了144名参与者：83名农业工人（病例）和61名没有直接接触农用化学品的当地人（对照）。使用结构化问卷获取人口统计学数据以及病例所遵循的农业工作实践。从参与者身上采集静脉血样，用于估算全血细胞计数和肾功能（血清肌酐（CRE）、血尿素氮（BUN）、BUN：CRE比值以及估算肾小球滤过率（eGFR））。使用瓦里安AA 240FS原子光谱仪在乙炔 - 空气火焰中估算血清铅、砷和镉水平。
病例组的红细胞中位数（4.49对4.92×10/L）、血红蛋白（12.50对13.70 g/dL）和血小板计数（220.00对268.00）显著较低。与对照组相比，病例组中被归类为贫血或有小细胞的比例显著更高。此外，病例组的血清尿素（4.08对3.41；=0.0009）、肌酐（108.10对101.10；=0.0286）和BUN：CRE比值（19.75对17.84）显著更高。此外，18.1%的病例被归类为肾功能中度降低，而对照组仅为6.6%。而且，与对照组相比，病例组血清铅（55.6%对16.4%）和砷（53.1%对9.8%）水平可检测到的比例显著更高。然而，平均而言，80%的农业工人在施用农用化学品时未使用个人防护装备（PPE）；84.3%使用过的农用化学品容器被丢弃在河流/运河附近。
忽视使用个人防护装备可能使农用化学品工人和社区易发生铅和砷的生物累积，从而导致血液学和肾功能下降。
