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Acute symptoms following work with pesticides
Christine Solomon1, Jason Poole, Keith T Palmer
1MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
Background:
Serious accidental poisoning by pesticides is rare in the UK, but more minor pesticide-related illness may be under-reported. Anecdotally, use of sheep dip has been linked with flu-like symptoms.
Aim:
To explore the frequency, nature and determinants of acute symptoms following work with pesticides.
Methods:
A postal survey of men in three rural areas of England and Wales provided data on occupational use of five categories of pesticide, occurrence of 12 specified symptoms within 48 h of using pesticides and tendency to somatize. Risk factors for pesticide-related symptoms were assessed by modified Cox regression.
Results:
Of 10 765 responders (response rate = 31%), 4108 had at some time used pesticides occupationally, including 935 (23%) who reported symptoms following such work on at least one occasion. In two areas, acute symptoms were most frequent following use of sheep dip (29 and 32% of users), but in the third area the rate was significantly lower (13% of users). The relative frequency of symptoms was similar for all five categories of pesticide, and flu-like symptoms did not cluster unusually among users of sheep dip. Risk of pesticide-related symptoms increased with somatizing tendency (prevalence ratio for highest versus lowest category 2.4, 95% confidence interval 2.0-3.0) and was higher in men who had used pesticides most often or handled concentrate.
Conclusion:
Acute symptoms are common following work with pesticides, but in many cases the illness may arise through psychological rather than toxic mechanisms.
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