Avaliação do perfil bioquímico, hematológico, oxidativo e mutagênico e uso de agrotóxicos por trabalhadores rurais do município de Santiago, RS

Abstract

The rural population corresponds to 15% of the Brazilian population and it is distributed in fairly diversified agricultural agglomerations in relations to factors such as colonization profile, schooling, socioeconomic conditions and work practices. Family farming represents 80% of this population and it is characterized by the family labor and production for their own subsistence, as well as for the supply of fruits and vegetables, meat and grain for the local market. Occupational exposure of small farmers to pesticides canincur in various ways which may pose a health risk to that population. Thus, assessing the health conditions of this part of the population and searching for possible health hazards markers by pesticide exposing becomes important and necessary to adapt effective health programs to these farming agglomerates. Nine localities were visited in the inner city of Santiago / RS. A total of 152 farmers, with the average age of 52 years, answered the survey and performed anthropometric, blood pressure and psychobiological assessments participated in the study. They performed fasting blood sampling to determine the biochemical, hematological profile, markers of oxidative stress, and mutagenicity. Factors such as gender, number of rural modules, educational level and working conditions influenced the outcomes. The sample was divided according to the interview in two groups: volunteers who use chemicals and pesticides (n = 84) and volunteers who did not use pesticides (n = 68). The group that use pesticides presented significantly higher values for the measure of the neck circumference and for the oxidative stress markers TBARS and Carbonil. This same group showed a significant reduction in the total cholesterol levels/dosages, alkaline phosphatase, albumin, total leukocytes, monocytes and platelets, as well as a significant reduction of the antioxidant enzymes SOD, GPx and GSH. According to the micronucleus evaluation, there is no mutagenic damage to this group of farmers. The various parameters that showed significant changes for the group using pesticides require more in-depth researches to evaluate these potential biomarkers of occupational exposure. The evaluation of chronic diseases rates such as hypertension, dyslipidemias, diabetes and depression indicate the necessity for health programs adapted to this important share of the Brazilian population.