Venugopal Dhananjayan, Beerappa Ravichandran, Chauhan Deepika, Karunamoorthy Panjakumar, Ambikapathy Mala, Mohankumar Thamaraikannan, Gaikwad Avinash, Kondhalkar Shridhar
ICMR-Regional Occupational Health Center (S), NIOH, Devanahalli, Bangalore, Karnataka , 562 110, India.
Vector Biology and Control, ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry, 605006, India.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jul 9;25(1):2416. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-23174-5.
This cross-sectional study evaluates occupational health hazards among farmers' exposure to pesticides in Chikkaballapura, Karnataka, India, focusing on health complaints, demographic factors, occupational history and pesticide-handling practices.
A total of 226 participants were recruited, comprising 109 exposed farmers and 117 unexposed controls matched by age and gender. Structured questionnaires addressing demographics,and lifestyle characteristics, pesticide application practices, management procedures, and health complaints were used to gather data.
Significant demographic disparities emerged, with a higher prevalence of younger individuals (≤ 30 years) in the exposed group (32%) than in the unexposed (18%, p = 0.002). Education levels also differed: 12% of exposed farmers had postgraduate education compared to 3% of the unexposed group (p = 0.009). Dietary practices and lifestyle characteristics like chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol, and smoking did not significantly differ between groups. Occupational practices revealed critical safety gaps. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) was limited, with only 27% of exposed farmers reporting the use of masks, 20% wearing goggles, and 15% using gloves. Many exposed farmers engaged in high-risk tasks, including pesticide mixing (62%) and weekly pesticide applications (52%), often without the use of PPE. Health complaints were significantly more common in the exposed group: 35% reported fatigue (compared to 20% in controls, χ² = 5.51, p = < 0.05). In contrast, respiratory problems were absent in the control group and evident in 9% of the exposed group. Musculoskeletal issues, including backache (32%), and neck pain (36%), were notably higher among exposed farmers. Dermatological symptoms like burns (21%, χ² = 12.9, p = < 0.05), blisters (15%, χ² = 4.85, p < 0.05), and eye issues, including irritation (11%, χ² = 5.60, p < 0.05) and blurred vision (8%, χ² = 4.55, p < 0.05), were also significantly elevated among exposed farmers. These findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive interventions, including regulatory policies to improve access to PPE, safety training, and targeted educational programs for younger and less-educated farmers.
This study contributes essential data for developing targeted, context-specific preventive strategies to safeguard health in rural farming communities. In order to evaluate the long-term health effects of pesticide exposures, future research should look into pesticide residue monioring in enviornmental and biological samples, demographic, socioeconomic, and occupational factors that shape exposure risk, thereby informing policies to protect agricultural workers.
本横断面研究评估了印度卡纳塔克邦奇卡巴拉普拉地区农民接触农药的职业健康危害，重点关注健康投诉、人口统计学因素、职业史和农药处理习惯。
共招募了226名参与者，包括109名接触农药的农民和117名按年龄和性别匹配的未接触对照组。使用结构化问卷收集有关人口统计学、生活方式特征、农药施用习惯、管理程序和健康投诉的数据。
出现了显著的人口统计学差异，接触组中年龄较小（≤30岁）的个体患病率（32%）高于未接触组（18%，p = 0.002）。教育水平也有所不同：12%的接触农药农民拥有研究生学历，而未接触组为3%（p = 0.009）。两组之间的饮食习惯和生活方式特征，如嚼烟草、饮酒和吸烟，没有显著差异。职业习惯显示出关键的安全差距。个人防护设备（PPE）的使用有限，只有27%的接触农药农民报告使用口罩，20%戴护目镜，15%使用手套。许多接触农药的农民从事高风险任务，包括农药混合（62%）和每周施用农药（52%），且经常不使用个人防护设备。健康投诉在接触组中明显更常见：35%报告疲劳（对照组为20%，χ² = 5.51，p < 0.05）。相比之下，对照组中没有呼吸问题，而接触组中有9%出现呼吸问题。肌肉骨骼问题，包括背痛（32%）和颈部疼痛（36%），在接触农药的农民中明显更高。皮肤病症状，如烧伤（21%，χ² = 12.9，p < 0.05）、水泡（15%，χ² = 4.85，p < 0.05）以及眼部问题，包括刺激（11%，χ² = 5.60，p < 0.05）和视力模糊（8%，χ² = 4.55，p < 0.05），在接触农药的农民中也显著增加。这些发现强调了全面干预的迫切需要，包括监管政策以改善个人防护设备的获取、安全培训以及针对年轻和受教育程度较低农民的针对性教育计划。
本研究为制定有针对性的、因地制宜的预防策略以保障农村农业社区的健康提供了重要数据。为了评估农药接触的长期健康影响，未来的研究应调查环境和生物样本中的农药残留监测、影响接触风险的人口统计学、社会经济和职业因素，从而为保护农业工人的政策提供依据。
