Author:

• Iraci Lucena da Silva Torres - Torres, I.L.S. - Porto Alegre, RS - Universidade Federal do rio Grande do Sul - <iracitorres@gmail.com>

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess a possible association between contact with pesticides and prevalence of chronic diseases in a rural population from the south of Brazil. Three municipalities were randomly chosen. The sample selected on a convenience basis was recruited during three months (2005) and was composed of 298 subjects of both sexes, between 18 and 65 years of age, who used public or private pharmacies. Data were obtained by means of structured interviews and showed that 68.4% of the interviews worked in rural activities; and 74.8% of these were members of families working in agriculture with contact with pesticides. The mean of age was 51+16.5 years of age for the interviewees with contact with pesticides and 50+17.9 years for those without contact. The sample was composed for 36.2% of men, and 57.7% of the individuals had more than four years of education. Direct or indirect contact with pesticides associated with the report of several diseases, being neurological and oral diseases the most prevalent. There was an association with painful conditions in a way that individuals with contact with pesticides referred approximately twice as more to these diseases. Data corroborate other studies found in literature and call attention to the need of promoting measures to protect the health of the rural population.
Pesticides; agricultural workers’ diseases

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