BACKGROUND: Workers in pesticide manufacturing industries are constantly exposed to pesticides. Genetic biomonitoring provides an early identification of potential cancer and genetic diseases in exposed populations. The objectives of this biomonitoring study were to assess DNA damage through comet assay in blood samples collected from industry workers and compare these results with those of classical analytical techniques used for complete blood count analysis. METHODS: Samples from controls (n = 20) and exposed workers (n = 38) from an industrial area in Multan, Pakistan, were subjected to various tests. Malathion residues in blood samples were measured by gas chromatography. RESULTS: The exposed workers who were employed in the pesticide manufacturing industry for a longer period (i.e., 13-25 years) had significantly higher DNA tail length (7.04 μm) than the controls (0.94 μm). Workers in the exposed group also had higher white blood cell and red blood cell counts, and lower levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration, and mean corpuscular volume in comparison with normal levels for these parameters. Malathion was not detected in the control group. However, in the exposed group, 72% of whole blood samples had malathion with a mean value of 0.14 mg/L (range 0.01-0.31 mg/L). CONCLUSION: We found a strong correlation (R2 = 0.91) between DNA damage in terms of tail length and malathion concentration in blood. Intensive efforts and trainings are thus required to build awareness about safety practices and to change industrial workers' attitude to prevent harmful environmental and anthropogenic effects.
Blood Cell Count ; Chromatography, Gas ; Comet Assay ; DNA ; DNA Damage ; Environmental Monitoring* ; Erythrocyte Count ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Hematologic Tests ; Leukocytes ; Malathion ; Occupations* ; Pakistan ; Pesticides* ; Tail

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to compare demographic and characteristic differences in self-poisoned patients by age groups using a comprehensive trauma database. METHODS: This study included 1,823 patients who were admitted to the emergency room following self-poisoning. Three age groups were defined: young patients (less than 19 years), adult patients (19 to 64 years) and elderly patients (65 years and old). From January 2011 to December 2015, data were obtained from in a single emergency medical center. We investigated the materials of poisoning, ingestion time, GCS, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and outcomes of patients. RESULTS: A total of 1,823 self-poisoned patients visited the hospital during 5 years. Among these, 130 (7.1%) were categorized as young, 1,460 (80.1%) were adults and 233 (12.8%) were elderly. The most common drug of self-poisoning substances was antipyretics (50.0%) for those in the young group, sedative drugs (45.0%) for adults, and pesticides (41.2%) for the elderly. Mortality was 2.7% in the adult group and 14.6% in the elderly group. After adjusting for all factors related to mortality, the odds ratio (OR) of mortality was 2.63 in the elderly group (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-4.81). CONCLUSION: There were definite differences in the characteristics of three groups. The younger patients used drugs that could be easily obtained while older patients used more lethal drugs.
Adult ; Aged ; Antipyretics ; Blood Pressure ; Eating ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Epidemiology* ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Intention ; Mortality ; Odds Ratio ; Pesticides ; Poisoning*

Pesticide formulation includes solvents (methanol and xylene) and antifreeze (ethylene glycol) whose metabolites are anions such as formic acid, hippuric acid, and oxalate. However, the effect of the anion gap on clinical outcome in acute pesticide intoxication requires clarification. In this prospective study, we compared the anion gap and other parameters between surviving versus deceased patients with acute pesticide intoxication. The following parameters were assessed in 1,058 patients with acute pesticide intoxication: blood chemistry (blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose, lactic acid, liver enzymes, albumin, globulin, and urate), urinalysis (ketone bodies), arterial blood gas analysis, electrolytes (Na+, K+, Cl- HCO3 -, Ca++), pesticide field of use, class, and ingestion amount, clinical outcome (death rate, length of hospital stay, length of intensive care unit stay, and seriousness of toxic symptoms), and the calculated anion gap. Among the 481 patients with a high anion gap, 52.2% had a blood pH in the physiologic range, 35.8% had metabolic acidosis, and 12.1% had acidemia. Age, anion gap, pesticide field of use, pesticide class, seriousness of symptoms (all P < 0.001), and time lag after ingestion (P = 0.048) were significant risk factors for death in univariate analyses. Among these, age, anion gap, and pesticide class were significant risk factors for death in a multiple logistic regression analysis (P < 0.001). In conclusions, high anion gap is a significant risk factor for death, regardless of the accompanying acid-base balance status in patients with acute pesticide intoxication.
Acid-Base Equilibrium ; Acidosis/etiology ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anions/*chemistry/metabolism ; Biomarkers/*chemistry/metabolism ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Chemically-Induced Disorders/mortality/pathology ; Electrolytes/analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Pesticides/*poisoning ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Survival Analysis ; Urinalysis ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo assess the value of combined detection of copeptin and ischemia modified albumin (IMA) in early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of myocardial damage in patients with acute organic phosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP).

METHODSA total of 126 AOPP patients were examined for blood copepin and IMA levels and myocardial injury markers within 1 h after admission.

RESULTSCopeptin and IMA levels significantly increased in patients with AOPP compared with those in the control subjects. Copeptin and IMA levels were significantly higher in severe AOPP cases than in mild to moderate cases (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that increased copeptin and IMA levels and severe complications of AOPP were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events.

CONCLUSIONEarly detection of copeptin and IMA levels has important clinical value in early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of myocardial damage in patients with AOPP, and their levels are positively correlated with the severity of the condition.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Early Diagnosis ; Glycopeptides ; blood ; Humans ; Organophosphate Poisoning ; diagnosis ; Pesticides ; poisoning ; Prognosis ; Serum Albumin ; Serum Albumin, Human

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the exercise-induced fatigue in operators during pesticide spraying based on surface electromyography (sEMC) signals and heart rate.

METHODSThe sEMG signals were recorded from the right trapezius, biceps brachii, extensor digitorum, and flexor digitorum of 19 operators by portable electromyography units during pesticide spraying using 3WS-16 manual sprayers. Meanwhile, the heart rate of operators was measured by the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring system. The changes in median frequency and heart rate were analyzed.

RESULTSPesticide spraying was defined as low-intensity labor. The median frequency of the right trapezius, biceps brachii, extensor digitorum, and flexor digitorum decreased significantly as pesticide spraying went on (P < 0.05). The body remained in a state of slight fatigue from 8 min after pesticide spraying began to the end of the operation.

CONCLUSIONThe degree of exercise-induced fatigue of operators can be evaluated based on sEMG signals and heart rate during pesticide spraying.

Arm ; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory ; Electromyography ; Hand ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Muscle Fatigue ; Muscle, Skeletal ; physiology ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Pesticides ; Physical Exertion

OBJECTIVE: To develop the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) for determining pesticides present in blood samples. METHODS: Pesticides were extracted by ASE with optimized parameters to study recovery rate affected by extraction temperature, time and agent. GC/MS was used to perform quantitative analysis. RESULTS: The recovery rates of eight pesticides were 70.6%-92.4%. The coefficient of variation was less than 5.0%. A good linear relationship was obtained at the concentration range of 0.5-5.0 microg/mL. CONCLUSION The method was fast and simple with high recovery rate and good repeatability. It can be applied to analyze pesticides present in the blood specimen.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Pesticides/blood* ; Solvents ; Temperature ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo establish a method for simultaneous determination of 17 common pesticides in whole blood by solid phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPE-GC-MS).

METHODSWhole blood samples were treated by extraction with acetonitrile, and the obtained extract was cleaned up using an Oasis HLB SPE cartridge; pesticides were separated by GC and quantitatively analyzed by MS with selected ion monitoring.

RESULTSThe concentrations of 17 pesticides in whole blood were 1.0-5.0 mg/L, and the recovery rate was 41.3-102.1%, with a relative standard deviation of less than 10%in most pesticides. The 17 pesticides showed a good linear relationship between concentration and peak area within 0.5-5.0 mg/L, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9945-0.9994. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.02-0.05 mg/L and 0.05-0.09 mg/L, respectively.

CONCLUSIONWith this method, 17 pesticides in whole blood can be well separated and determined. This method has high sensitivity, accuracy, and precision and can be used for identification and quantification of multiple pesticides in blood samples.

Blood Chemical Analysis ; methods ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Humans ; Pesticides ; blood

There are substantial variations of relative risks (RR) in smoking-related mortality by country and time. We hypothesized the RRs in smoking-related mortality might differ depending on serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). We evaluated the associations of cigarette smoking with total mortality in 610 elderly (aged > or = 70 yr) (702 elderly for organochlorine pesticides [OCPs]) after stratification by serum concentration of POPs, in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004 followed through 2006. Summary measures of POPs subclasses showed significant or marginally significant interaction with cigarette smoking on the risk of total mortality. P values for interaction were 0.069 for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), 0.008 for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and 0.024 for OCPs. The effect of smoking on total mortality showed different patterns according to the serum concentration of some POPs. Former or current smokers had 1.4 to 2.9 times higher mortality rates compared with never smokers among participants with higher serum concentrations of POPs (2nd or 3rd tertiles). However, when the level of PCBs or OCPs were low (1st tertile), there were little positive associations between smoking and mortality. Our study suggests that the background exposure to several POPs may be related to variability in smoking-related total mortality.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Environmental Exposure ; Environmental Pollutants/*blood ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated/blood ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Pesticides/blood ; Polychlorinated Biphenyls/blood ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Risk ; Smoking/*mortality ; Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin/analogs & derivatives/blood

There are substantial variations of relative risks (RR) in smoking-related mortality by country and time. We hypothesized the RRs in smoking-related mortality might differ depending on serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). We evaluated the associations of cigarette smoking with total mortality in 610 elderly (aged > or = 70 yr) (702 elderly for organochlorine pesticides [OCPs]) after stratification by serum concentration of POPs, in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004 followed through 2006. Summary measures of POPs subclasses showed significant or marginally significant interaction with cigarette smoking on the risk of total mortality. P values for interaction were 0.069 for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), 0.008 for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and 0.024 for OCPs. The effect of smoking on total mortality showed different patterns according to the serum concentration of some POPs. Former or current smokers had 1.4 to 2.9 times higher mortality rates compared with never smokers among participants with higher serum concentrations of POPs (2nd or 3rd tertiles). However, when the level of PCBs or OCPs were low (1st tertile), there were little positive associations between smoking and mortality. Our study suggests that the background exposure to several POPs may be related to variability in smoking-related total mortality.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Environmental Exposure ; Environmental Pollutants/*blood ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated/blood ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Pesticides/blood ; Polychlorinated Biphenyls/blood ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Risk ; Smoking/*mortality ; Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin/analogs & derivatives/blood

OBJECTIVES: Chronic inflammation is now thought to play a key pathogenetic role in the associations of obesity with insulin resistance and diabetes. Based on our recent findings on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including the lack of an association between obesity and either insulin resistance or diabetes prevalence among subjects with very low concentrations of POPs, we hypothesized that POP concentrations may be associated with inflammation and modify the associations between inflammation and insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. METHODS: Cross-sectional associations among serum POPs, C-reactive protein (CRP), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were investigated in 748 non-diabetic participants aged > or =20 years. Nineteen types of POPs in 5 subclasses were selected because the POPs were detectable in > or =60% of the participants. RESULTS: Among the five subclasses of POPs, only organochlorine (OC) pesticides showed positive associations with CRP concentrations, while polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) showed inverse associations with CRP concentrations. There were statistically significant interactions between CRP and OC pesticides and between CRP and PCBs, in estimating HOMA-IR (P for interaction <0.01 and <0.01, respectively). CRP was not associated with HOMA-IR among subjects with low concentrations of OC pesticides or PCBs, while CRP was strongly associated with HOMA-IR among subjects with high concentrations of these POPs. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, OC pesticides were associated with increased levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation, and both OC pesticides and PCBs may also modify the associations between CRP and insulin resistance.
Adult ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis/*drug effects ; Environmental Pollutants/adverse effects/*blood ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated/adverse effects/*blood ; Inflammation/*chemically induced ; Insulin Resistance/*physiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutrition Surveys ; Pesticides/adverse effects/blood ; Polychlorinated Biphenyls/adverse effects/*blood