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

Toxicology Letters

Volume 230, Issue 2, October 05, 2014, Pages 166-176

  (Article)

Costa, C.^a , 

Garci´a-Lesto´n, J.^b, 

Costa, S.^a, 

Coelho, P.^a, 

Silva, S.^a, 

Pingarilho, M.^c, 

Valdiglesias, V.^bd, 

Mattei, F.^d, 

Dall'Armi, V.^d, 

Bonassi, S.^d, 

Laffon, B.^b, 

Snawder, J.^e, 

Teixeira, J.P.^a

 

^a  Department of Environmental Health, Portuguese National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano, 321, Porto, Portugal
^b  Toxicology Unit, Department of Psychobiology, University of A Corun&tild;a, Edificio de Servicios Centrales de Investigacio´n, Campus Elvin&tild;a s/n, Corun&tild;a, Spain
^c  Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medical Sciences UNL, Rua da Junqueira 100, Lisbon, Portugal 

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Abstract

Exposure 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. © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Author keywords

Biomarkers; Genotoxicity; Immunotoxicity; Organic farming; Pesticides

Indexed keywords

EMTREE drug terms: biological marker; carbamic acid derivative; cholinesterase; organophosphate pesticide; pesticide; pyrethroid; sulfide; T lymphocyte receptor; biological marker; glutathione S-transferase M1; glutathione S-transferase T1; glutathione transferase; pesticide

EMTREE medical terms: adult; agricultural worker; Article; chromosome aberration; comet assay; controlled study; DNA damage; enzyme activity; EPHX1 gene; female; gene; genetic damage; genetic polymorphism; genotoxicity; GSTM1 gene; GSTP1 gene; GSTT1 gene; human; immunotoxicity; lymphocyte; lymphocyte subpopulation; male; micronucleus; mutational analysis; occupational exposure; organic farming; reticulocyte count; XRCC1 gene; XRCC2 gene; adolescent; aged; comparative study; drug effects; genetics; middle aged; toxicity

MeSH: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological Markers; DNA Damage; Female; Glutathione Transferase; Humans; Lymphocyte Subsets; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Exposure; Organic Agriculture; Pesticides
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.

Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: cholinesterase, 9001-08-5; sulfide, 18496-25-8; glutathione transferase, 50812-37-8;Biological Markers; glutathione S-transferase M1; glutathione S-transferase T1; Glutathione Transferase; Pesticides

ISSN: 03784274 CODEN: TOLEDSource Type: Journal Original language: English

DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.02.011 PubMed ID: 24576785Document Type: Article

Publisher: Elsevier Ireland Ltd

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