European Respiratory Society Annual Congress; Stockholm, Sweden: 15-19 September 2007
Farmers who are exposed to certain pesticides face an increased risk of developing occupational asthma, results of a US study suggest.
Dr. Jane Hoppin, from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the Triangle Research Park in North Carolina, USA, and colleagues explain: "While pesticides have been associated with wheeze in farmers, few studies have focused on pesticides and risk of asthma."
To address this, the team examined data on pesticide exposure among more than 20,000 farmers who were participating in a US agricultural health study.
In total, 129 of the participants had allergic asthma and 323 had non-allergic asthma.
Analysis revealed that 12 pesticides were associated with a significantly increased risk of allergic asthma and four were associated with an increased risk of non-allergic asthma.
Nearly half the pesticides associated with an increased risk of allergic asthma are no longer on sale in the USA, but seven are still in common use. Indeed, one of the most widely used pesticides, called coumaphos, was associated with more than a 2-fold increased risk of asthma.
Pesticides associated with an increased risk of non-allergic asthma included the now prohibited DDT, and the rarely used phorate. But malathion and petroleum oil herbicide are still used widely and were associated with a 30-40% increased risk of non-allergic asthma.
Speaking at the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society in Stockholm, Sweden, Dr Hoppin concluded: "Pesticides may be an overlooked contributor to asthma risk among farmers."
Source: MedWire News
By Mark Cowen
20 September 2007
