Pesticide Exposure At Work Ups Risks Of Heart Diseases And Stroke, Study Says

Several health effects including total mortality have been attributed to pesticide exposure. According to a recent study, it increases an exposed person’s risks of heart diseases and stroke.

Occupational pesticide exposure not only concerns workers in the agricultural industry but also workers in more than 200 other jobs such as pest control, park maintenance, wood preservation, etc. Although the jobs with agricultural exposure had a higher exposure, indirect exposure to pesticides has been reported to be more frequent.

The findings are from the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program which involved more than 8000 Japanese American men during the period of 1965-1968. The participants have since undergone numerous examinations and the researchers have been tracking all causes of diseases and even death.

Pesticides possess a long half-life and thereby, the health effects they can cause might occur years after a person gets exposed. The researchers analyzed various time lags and found that the utmost effect of pesticide exposure on heart disease and stroke risk happened during the first 10 years.

About 45% higher risk of heart disease or stroke was reported in men who were highly exposed to pesticide and no significant relationship was reported between low to moderate pesticide exposure and the risk of stroke or heart diseases.

The lead researcher Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H, professor of geriatric medicine, the University of Hawaii at Manoa said, "After following the men for 34 years, the link between being exposed to pesticides at work and heart disease and stroke was no longer significant. This was probably because other factors tied to aging became more important, masking the possible relation of pesticides and cardiovascular disease later in life".

Older studies have reported that men and women tend to respond differently to pesticide exposure. While a particular class of pesticide might cause heart attacks in women, it might not have the same effect on men. Similarly, other kinds of pesticides that might affect the heart health of men, might not affect women. The authors opine that hormones play a vital role in the impact of pesticide exposure and in the development of heart diseases.

Even though this study involved only first or second-generation Japanese American men, similar results were fetched among the middle-aged Taiwanese men who were highly exposed to pesticides.