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Lower acetylcholinesterase activity among children living with flower plantation workers
Jose R Suarez-Lopez1, David R Jacobs, John H Himes
1Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 South 2nd Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. suarez@umn.edu
Insights
Children living with flower workers showed lower acetylcholinesterase activity, indicating pesticide exposure. Longer cohabitation correlated with decreased enzyme activity, suggesting take-home pesticide risks.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children of pesticide-exposed workers face secondary exposure risks.
- Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides can lower acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity.
- The Secondary Exposure to Pesticides among Infants, Children and Adolescents (ESPINA) study investigates these risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate if children cohabiting with fresh-cut flower plantation workers exhibit reduced acetylcholinesterase activity.
- To determine the association between parental occupation in flower plantations and secondary pesticide exposure in children.
- To assess the impact of cohabitation duration on acetylcholinesterase levels.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 277 children aged 4-9 years in rural Ecuador.
- Parental home surveys were conducted to gather data on pesticide use and living conditions.
- Acetylcholinesterase activity was measured and analyzed in relation to parental occupation and exposure duration.
Main Results:
- Children cohabiting with flower workers had significantly lower mean acetylcholinesterase activity compared to children of non-flower workers.
- Adjusted analyses accounted for various demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors.
- Children cohabiting for five or more years showed a higher odds ratio for having lower acetylcholinesterase activity.
Conclusions:
- Cohabitation with flower workers is linked to decreased acetylcholinesterase activity in children.
- This finding supports the hypothesis of take-home pesticide exposure from parents working in flower plantations.
- Prolonged cohabitation appears to exacerbate the reduction in acetylcholinesterase activity, highlighting cumulative exposure risks.
Background:
Children of workers exposed to pesticides are at risk of secondary pesticide exposure. We evaluated the potential for lower acetylcholinesterase activity in children cohabiting with fresh-cut flower plantation workers, which would be expected from organophosphate and carbamate insecticide exposure. Parental home surveys were performed and acetylcholinesterase activity was measured in 277 children aged 4-9 years in the Secondary Exposure to Pesticides among Infants, Children and Adolescents (ESPINA) study. Participants lived in a rural county in Ecuador with substantial flower plantation activity.
Results:
Mean acetylcholinesterase activity was 3.14 U/ml, standard deviation (SD) of 0.49. It was lower by 0.09 U/ml (95% confidence interval (CI) -0.19, -0.001) in children of flower workers (57% of participants) than non-flower workers' children, after adjustment for gender, age, height-for-age, hemoglobin concentration, income, pesticide use within household lot, pesticide use by contiguous neighbors, examination date and residence distance to nearest flower plantation. Using a 4 level polychotomous acetylcholinesterase activity dependent variable, flower worker cohabitation (vs. not) had odds ratio 3.39 (95% CI 1.19, 9.64) for being <15th percentile compared to the highest tertile. Children cohabitating for ≥5 years (vs. never) had OR of 4.11 (95% CI: 1.17, 14.38) of AChE activity within <15th percentile compared to the highest tertile.
Conclusions:
Cohabitation with a flower worker was related to lower acetylcholinesterase activity in children. This supports the hypothesis that the amount of take-home pesticides from flower workers suffices to decrease acetylcholinesterase activity, with lower activity associated with longer exposure.
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