People working with pesticides can be at higher risk of respiratory illnesses, and this may often go undiagnosed, research has suggested.
Coughs, chest tightness, wheezing and nasal allergies were all reported by the workers studied by a team working for the Health and Safety Executive and published in the latest issue of the Society of Occupational Medicine’s journal Occupational Medicine.
Respiratory health
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The team, based at the HSE Science and Research Centre in Buxton, Derbyshire, with analysis led by Professor David Fishwick, studied 5,807 workers, and then carried out a follow-up study of 2,578 five years later.
They studied factors including working hours and practices, exposures to specific types of pesticide, self-reported respiratory ill health and doctor-diagnosed health conditions. The average age of the workers was mid-50s, and 98% were male.
The researchers found that respiratory symptoms were common at follow-up, including nasal allergies (21%), regular coughing (14%), and chest tightness (13%). While work-related chest tightness was less common, at 1.8%, it was nevertheless still marked.
Intriguingly, the team concluded that nasal allergies and chest tightness were more common in those who had not been using pesticides in the previous 12 months.
However, this suggested the workers may have stopped working with pesticides precisely because of the symptoms they were experiencing.
Chest tightness was more common in retired workers, and work-related chest tightness was more common among those who also reported high exposure to pesticides.
“Work-related chest tightness, potentially suggestive of asthma or occupational asthma, was significantly associated with high pesticide exposure,” Prof Fishwick argued.
The study, said the researchers, reinforced the links already recognised between pesticide exposure and respiratory symptoms, including adverse changes in pulmonary function and heightened risk of respiratory conditions, such as asthma.
But it also highlighted that levels of doctor-diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and chronic bronchitis were very low. “This suggests that a significant proportion of the respiratory ill health within this group may be underdiagnosed. If exposure can be reduced, ill-health can be reduced,” the researchers concluded
Professor Neil Greenberg, president of the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM), said: “This study reinforces the need for vigilance in monitoring the health of all pesticide workers on an ongoing basis and, where possible, mitigating or managing the risk of exposure.
“It is vital occupational health teams are able to question, and understand, the nature of respiratory ill health,” he added.
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