Cognitive impairment in agricultural workers and nearby residents exposed to pesticides in the Coquimbo Region of Chile
Author
dc.contributor.author
Corral, Sebastián
Author
dc.contributor.author
Angel, Valeria de
Author
dc.contributor.author
Solos, Natalia
Author
dc.contributor.author
Zúñiga Venegas, Liliana
Author
dc.contributor.author
Gaspar, Pablo A.
Author
dc.contributor.author
Pancetti, Florio
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2018-07-05T16:12:50Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2018-07-05T16:12:50Z
Publication date
dc.date.issued
2017
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 62 (2017): 13–19
es_ES
Identifier
dc.identifier.other
10.1016/j.ntt.2017.05.003
Identifier
dc.identifier.uri
https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/149548
Abstract
dc.description.abstract
Chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides is a worldwide public health concern associated with several psychiatric disorders and dementia. Most existing studies on the effects of pesticides only evaluate agricultural workers. Therefore, this study sought to establish if individuals indirectly exposed to pesticides, such as residents in agricultural areas, also suffer cognitive impairments. Neuropsychological evaluations were carried out on three groups (n = 102): agricultural workers directly exposed to pesticides (n = 32), individuals living in agricultural areas indirectly (i.e. environmentally) exposed to pesticides (n = 32), and an unexposed control group (n = 38). The assessed cognitive processes included memory, executive functions, attention, language praxis, and visuoconstruction. The direct exposure group performed significantly lower in executive function, verbal fluency, and visual and auditory memory tests than the indirect exposure group, which, in turn, performed worse than the unexposed group. Even after adjusting for age, gender, and educational level, both exposure groups showed higher rates of cognitive deficit than control individuals. In conclusion, both direct and indirect chronic exposure to pesticides affects cognitive functioning in adults and, consequently, actions should be taken to protect the health of not only agricultural workers, but also of residents in agricultural areas.