Artículos científicos

URI permanente para esta colecciónhttp://10.0.96.45:4000/handle/11056/14755

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Comparative Analysis of Pesticide Use Determinants Among Smallholder Farmers From Costa Rica and Uganda
(SAGE Publications Inc., 2020-12-14) Staudacher, Philipp; Fuhrimann, Samuel; Farnham, Andrea; Atuhaire, Aggrey; Niwagaba, Charles; Stamm, Christian; Eggen, Rik IL; Winkler, Mirko S; Mora, Ana Maria
Pesticides are used globally in agriculture and pose a threat to the health of farmers, communities, and the environment. Smallholder farmers in lowand middle-income countries have generally a low socio-economic status and educational level. Consequently, they are particularly vulnerable to negative impacts of pesticides on their health, yields, or land. In a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices study, we compared the pest management practices between a market-oriented farming system in Zarcero County, Costa Rica, and a subsistence-based farming system in Wakiso District, Uganda. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among smallholder farmers from Costa Rica (n = 300) in 2016 and from Uganda (n = 302) in 2017. We enrolled conventional and organic farmers, but also farmers with mixed practices and non-applicators of any pest management strategy. We found that the majority of pesticides used in both case studies are classified as highly hazardous by the World Health Organization. While more than 90% of smallholder farmers from both countries were aware of the negative health effects of pesticide exposure, <11% in Costa Rica and <2% in Uganda reported using personal protective equipment every time they handled or applied pesticides. Hygiene and other safe use practices were not adopted by all farmers (<61%), especially among farmers applying more hazardous pesticides. Conventional farmers from Costa Rica (14%) and Uganda (19%) reported disposing pesticide residuals into rivers. Using a logistic regression we found that organic farmers were more likely to having been trained on safe pesticide use practices. Using a robust regression, we observed that smallholder household income was primarily driven by education and not directly by the use of synthetic pesticides. Our results suggest that negative effects of pesticides can be managed over the whole life cycle, from purchase, via storage and application to residual and waste management by fostering professionalization of farmers. We advise future safe use and handling interventions to consider the pesticide use-related socioeconomic and demographic findings highlighted in this paper
Decreased Kidney Function Among Agricultural Workers In El Salvador
(Elsevier, 2012-04) Peraza, Sandra; Wesseling, Catharina; Aragon, Aurora; Leiva, Ricardo; García-Trabanino, Ramón; Torres, Cecilia; Jakobsson, Kristina; Elinder, Carl-Gustaf; Hogstedt, Christer
Background: An epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown cause has emerged along the Pacific coast of Central America, particularly in relatively young male sugarcane workers. In El Salvador, we examined residence and occupations at different altitudes as surrogate risk factors for heat stress. Study Design: Cross-sectional population-based survey. Setting & Participants: Populations aged 20-60 years of 5 communities in El Salvador, 256 men and 408 women (participation, 73%): 2 coastal communities with current sugarcane and past cotton production and 3 communities above 500 m with sugarcane, coffee, and service-oriented economies. Predictor: Participant sex, age, residence, occupation, agricultural history by crop and altitude, and traditional risk factors for CKD. Outcomes: Serum creatinine (SCr) level greater than the normal laboratory range for sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2, and proteinuria categorized as low (protein excretion <30-<300 mg/dL) and high grade (<300 mg/dL). Results: Of the men in the coastal communities, 30% had elevated SCr levels and 18% had eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 compared with 4% and 1%, respectively, in the communities above 500 m. For agricultural workers, prevalences of elevated SCr levels and eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 were highest for coastal sugarcane and cotton plantation workers, but were not increased in sugarcane workers at 500 m or subsistence farmers. Women followed a weaker but similar pattern. Proteinuria was infrequent, of low grade, and not different among communities, occupations, or sexes. The adjusted ORs of decreased kidney function for 10-year increments of coastal sugarcane or cotton plantation work were 3.1 (95% CI, 2.0-5.0) in men and 2.3 (95% CI, 1.4-3.7) in women. Limitations: The cross-sectional nature of the study limits etiologic interpretations. Conclusion: Agricultural work on lowland sugarcane and cotton plantations was associated with decreased kidney function in men and women, possibly related to strenuous work in hot environments with repeated volume depletion.
Environmental Health Threats to Latino Migrant Farmworkers
(Annual Reviews Inc., 2021-01-04) Castillo, Federico; Mora, Ana M.; Kayser, Georgia L.; Vanos, Jennifer; Hyland, Carly; Yang, Audrey R.; Eskenazi, Brenda
Approximately 75% of farmworkers in the United States are Latino migrants, and about 50% of hired farmworkers do not have authorization to work in the United States. Farmworkers face numerous chemical, physical, and biological threats to their health. The adverse effects of these hazards may be amplified among Latino migrant farmworkers, who are concurrently exposed to various psychosocial stressors. Factors such as documentation status, potential lack of authorization to work in the United States, and language and cultural barriers may also prevent Latino migrants from accessing federal aid, legal assistance, and health programs. These environmental, occupational, and social hazards may further exacerbate existing health disparities among US Latinos. This population is also likely to be disproportionately impacted by emerging threats, including climate change and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Latino migrant farmworkers are essential to agriculture in the United States, and actions are needed to protect this vulnerable population.
Kidney function in rice workers exposed to heat and dehydration in Costa Rica
(MDPI, 2022-04-19) Crowe, Jennifer; Rojas-Valverde, Daniel; Rojas Garbanzo, Marianela; Gutierrez-Vargas, Randall; Ugalde-Ramírez, Jose Alexis; Ledezma Rojas, José Pablo; Cabrera Alpizar, Willian; Salazar Salazar, Minor; Mauricio La Torre, Robinson; Valera-Amador, Lázara; van Wendel de Joode, Berna
The aim of this study was to evaluate heat exposure, dehydration, and kidney function in rice workers over the course of three months, in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We collected biological and questionnaire data across a three-month-period in male field (n = 27) and other (n = 45) workers from a rice company where chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu) is endemic. We used stepwise forward regression to determine variables associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate eGFR at enrollment and/or change in eGFR, and Poisson regression to assess associations with incident kidney injury (IKI) over the course of three months. Participants were 20–62 years old (median = 40 in both groups). Dehydration was common (≥37%) in both groups, particularly among other workers at enrollment, but field workers were more exposed to heat and had higher workloads. Low eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) was more prevalent in field workers at enrollment (19% vs. 4%) and follow-up (26% vs. 7%). Field workers experienced incident kidney injury (IKI) more frequently than other workers: 26% versus 2%, respectively. Age (β = −0.71, 95%CI: −1.1, −0.4), current position as a field worker (β = −2.75, 95%CI: −6.49, 0.99) and past work in construction (β = 3.8, 95%CI: −0.1, 7.6) were included in the multivariate regression model to explain eGFR at enrollment. The multivariate regression model for decreased in eGFR over three month included current field worker (β = −3.9, 95%CI: −8.2, 0.4), current smoking (β= −6.2, 95%CI: −13.7–1.3), dehydration (USG ≥ 1.025) at both visits (β= −3.19, 95%CI: −7.6, 1.2) and pain medication at follow-up (β= −3.2, 95%CI: −8.2, 1.95). Current fieldwork [IR (incidence rate) = 2.2, 95%CI 1.1, 5.8) and being diabetic (IR = 1.8, 95%CI 0.9, 3.6) were associated with IKI. Low eGFR was common in field workers from a rice company in Guanacaste, and being a field worker was a risk factor for IKI, consistent with the hypothesis that occupational heat exposure is a critical risk factor for CKDu in Mesoamerica.
Respiratory, allergy and eye problems in bagasse-exposed sugar cane workers in Costa Rica
(BMJ Journals, 2012-01-22) Gascon, Mireia; Kromhout, Hans; Heederik, Dick; Eduard, Wijnand; van Wendel de Joode, Berna
Aims To evaluate bagasse (sugar cane fibres) and microbiological exposure among sugar cane refinery workers in Costa Rica and its relationships with respiratory, allergy and eye problems. Methods Ventilatory lung function and total serum IgE were measured in 104 sugar cane workers in five departments at one refinery before the harvesting season, and repeated for 77 of the workers at the end of the season. Information on the prevalence of respiratory and other symptoms was collected with a standardised questionnaire. During the harvesting season, inhalable dust, endotoxin and mould levels were measured among 74 randomly selected sugar cane workers across departments. Results During the harvesting season, dust levels were relatively high in some departments, while endotoxin and mould levels were around background levels. Workers' ventilatory lung function differed between departments before, but not during the harvesting season or between seasons. During the harvesting season, the prevalence of wheeze and eye problems almost doubled in workers exposed to bagasse and other types of dust, whereas shortness of breath and rhinitis increased only in bagasse-exposed workers. Reporting wheeze and shortness of breath was positively associated with the number of years working at the refinery, suggesting a long-term health effect. Conclusion In this refinery, the differences in workers' ventilatory lung function before the harvesting season are unlikely to be explained by bagasse exposure. However, the increase in reported symptoms (wheeze, shortness of breath, eye problems and rhinitis) over the season is likely due to irritation by dust, in particular bagasse, rather than microbiological agents.

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Examinando Artículos científicos por Materia "AGRICULTURAL WORKERS"