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Is organic farming safer to farmers' health? A comparison between organic and traditional farming

2014-10-15Journal article Restricted access
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dc.contributor.authorCosta, C.
dc.contributor.authorGarcía-Lestón, J.
dc.contributor.authorCosta, S.
dc.contributor.authorCoelho, P.
dc.contributor.authorSilva, S.
dc.contributor.authorPingarilho, M.
dc.contributor.authorValdiglesias, V.
dc.contributor.authorMattei, F.
dc.contributor.authorDall'Armi, V.
dc.contributor.authorBonassi, S.
dc.contributor.authorLaffon, B.
dc.contributor.authorSnawder, J.
dc.contributor.authorTeixeira, João Paulo
dc.date.accessioned2015-01-30T12:53:51Z
dc.date.available2015-01-30T12:53:51Z
dc.date.issued2014-10-15
dc.description.abstractExposure to pesticides is a major public health concern, because of the widespread distribution of these compounds and their possible long term effects. Recently, organic farming has been introduced as a consumer and environmental friendly agricultural system, although little is known about the effects on workers' health. The aim of this work was to evaluate genetic damage and immunological alterations in workers of both traditional and organic farming. Eighty-five farmers exposed to several pesticides, thirty-six organic farmers and sixty-one controls took part in the study. Biomarkers of exposure (pyrethroids, organophosphates, carbamates, and thioethers in urine and butyrylcholinesterase activity in plasma), early effect (micronuclei in lymphocytes and reticulocytes, T-cell receptor mutation assay, chromosomal aberrations, comet assay and lymphocytes subpopulations) and susceptibility (genetic polymorphisms related to metabolism - EPHX1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 - and DNA repair-XRCC1 and XRCC2) were evaluated. When compared to controls and organic farmers, pesticide farmers presented a significant increase of micronuclei in lymphocytes (frequency ratio, FR=2.80) and reticulocytes (FR=1.89), chromosomal aberrations (FR=2.19), DNA damage assessed by comet assay (mean ratio, MR=1.71), and a significant decrease in the proportion of B lymphocytes (MR=0.88). Results were not consistent for organic farmers when compared to controls, with a 48% increase of micronuclei in lumphocytes frequency (p=0.016) contrasted by the significant decreases of TCR-Mf (p=0.001) and %T (p=0.001). Our data confirm the increased presence of DNA damage in farmers exposed to pesticides, and show as exposure conditions may influence observed effects. These results must be interpreted with caution due to the small size of the sample and the unbalanced distribution of individuals in the three study groups.por
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the grant SFRH/BD/37190/2007. The work of F.M., V.D., and S.B. was supported by grants funded by the Associazione Itaiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC).por
dc.identifier.citationToxicol Lett. 2014 Oct 15;230(2):166-76. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.02.011. Epub 2014 Feb 24por
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.02.011
dc.identifier.issn0378-4274
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/2723
dc.language.isoengpor
dc.peerreviewedyespor
dc.publisherElsevier/EUROTOXpor
dc.relation.publisherversionhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427414000897por
dc.subjectOccupational Healthpor
dc.subjectDNA damagepor
dc.subjectBiomarkerspor
dc.subjectGenotoxicitypor
dc.subjectImmunotoxicitypor
dc.subjectOrganic Farmingpor
dc.subjectPesticidespor
dc.subjectGenotoxidade Ambiental e Ocupacionalpor
dc.subjectAr e Saúde Ocupacionalpor
dc.titleIs organic farming safer to farmers' health? A comparison between organic and traditional farmingpor
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.endPage176por
oaire.citation.startPage166por
oaire.citation.titleToxicology Letterspor
oaire.citation.volume230(2)por
rcaap.rightsembargoedAccesspor
rcaap.typearticlepor

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