Postgraduate Program in Health Surveillance and Epidemiology, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ananindeua 67030-000, Brazil.
Environment Section, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ananindeua 67030-000, Brazil.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Oct 23;21(11):1396. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21111396.
In 2008, Brazil became the country with the highest pesticide use in the world, with over one billion liters of pesticides applied to crops in 2009. The impacts of these products on public health are wide-ranging. Vast territories are affected, involving different population groups, such as workers in various fields of activity, the population that consumes contaminated food, and people living around factories, such as traditional communities. This study aimed to assess human exposure to pesticides through epidemiological and laboratory data of residents of the Santo Antônio quilombola community in Concórdia do Pará, Amazon region, Brazil. Epidemiological data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, which included factors such as sex, age, length of residence, and level of exposure to pesticides. The modified Ellman method was used to assess the activity of cholinesterases, and flow cytometry was performed for cytokine analysis. Analysis of collected blood samples showed that, in most cases, there was no significant reduction in the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) compared to other studies in the scientific literature. Meanwhile, there was an increase in the levels of IFN-γ cytokines, especially IL-6, in all groups. The findings of this study highlight the urgent need for a comprehensive monitoring program, considering that some conditions other than pesticide exposure can alter the activities of the biomarkers used in this study.
2008 年，巴西成为世界上使用农药最多的国家，2009 年巴西向农作物喷洒了超过 10 亿升农药。这些产品对公众健康的影响是多方面的。广大地区受到影响，涉及不同的人群，如从事各种活动的工人、食用受污染食物的人群以及居住在工厂周围的人群，如传统社区。本研究旨在通过巴西亚马逊地区康科迪亚州圣安东尼奥夸兰巴社区居民的流行病学和实验室数据来评估人类接触农药的情况。流行病学数据是通过半结构化问卷收集的，其中包括性别、年龄、居住年限和接触农药的程度等因素。采用改良的 Ellman 法评估胆碱酯酶的活性，并用流式细胞术进行细胞因子分析。对采集的血液样本进行分析后表明，与科学文献中的其他研究相比，大多数情况下，乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）和丁酰胆碱酯酶（BChE）的活性并没有明显降低。同时，所有组的 IFN-γ 细胞因子水平，特别是 IL-6，均有所增加。本研究结果强调了需要制定一个全面的监测计划，因为除了农药暴露之外，其他一些条件也可能改变本研究中使用的生物标志物的活性。
