Pesticides exposures could be implicated in the excess of Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors observed in farmers, but evidence concerning individual pesticides remains limited. Carbamate derivative ...pesticides, including herbicides and fungicides (i.e. (thio/dithio)-carbamates), have shown evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental studies in animals. In the French AGRICAN cohort, we assessed the associations between potential exposures to carbamate herbicides and fungicides and the incidence of CNS tumors, overall and by histological subtype.
AGRICAN enrolled 181,842 participants involved in agriculture. Incident CNS tumors were identified by linkage with cancer registries from enrollment (2005–2007) until 2013. Individual exposures were assessed by combining information on lifetime periods of pesticide use on crops and the French crop-exposure matrix PESTIMAT, for each of the 14 carbamate and thiocarbamate herbicides and the 16 carbamate and dithiocarbamate fungicides registered in France since 1950. Associations were estimated using proportional hazard models with age as the underlying timescale, adjusting for gender, educational level and smoking.
During an average follow-up of 6.9 years, 381 incident cases of CNS tumors occurred, including 164 gliomas and 134 meningiomas. Analyses showed increased risks of CNS tumors with overall exposure to carbamate fungicides (Hazard Ratio, HR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.27–2.79) and, to a lesser extent, to carbamate herbicides (HR = 1.44; 95% CI: 0.94–2.22). Positive associations were observed with specific carbamates, including some fungicides (mancozeb, maneb, metiram) and herbicides (chlorpropham, propham, diallate) already suspected of being carcinogens in humans.
Although some associations need to be corroborate in further studies and should be interpreted cautiously, these findings provide additional carcinogenicity evidence for several carbamate fungicides and herbicides.
•Findings reinforce evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for some (thio/dithio)-carbamate herbicides and fungicides that were already suspected of being carcinogens.•Findings show two to three times higher CNS tumor risks following exposure to the (dithio/thio)-carbamates used by farmers growing vineyards, fruits, potatoes and beets.•The majority of studied active ingredients are no longer marketed in 2018, but some are still on the European market, and others were registered too recently to be studied.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The health effects of pesticides have been extensively studied in epidemiology, mainly in agricultural populations. However, pesticide exposure assessment remains a key methodological issue for ...epidemiological studies. Besides self-reported information, expert assessment or metrology, job-exposure matrices still appear to be an interesting tool. We reviewed all existing matrices assessing occupational exposure to pesticides in epidemiological studies and described the exposure parameters they included. We identified two types of matrices, (i) generic ones that are generally used in case-control studies and document broad categories of pesticides in a large range of jobs, and (ii) specific matrices, developed for use in agricultural cohorts, that generally provide exposure metrics at the active ingredient level. The various applications of these matrices in epidemiological studies have proven that they are valuable tools to assess pesticide exposure. Specific matrices are particularly promising for use in agricultural cohorts. However, results obtained with matrices have rarely been compared with those obtained with other tools. In addition, the external validity of the given estimates has not been adequately discussed. Yet, matrices would help in reducing misclassification and in quantifying cumulated exposures, to improve knowledge about the chronic health effects of pesticides.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
IntroductionProstate cancer incidence ranks 2nd among men worldwide. Farming and pesticide use are associated with prostate cancer risk. Triazole fungicides are widely used in agriculture to fight ...against several crop diseases such as odiumn scab, rot… Some are carcinogenic on animals, many are endocrine disruptors and most of them were never studied in epidemiology.Material and MethodsData on pesticide use on 10 crops, including years of beginning and ending, were collected in 2005–2007 for 81,960 men from the enrolment questionnaire of AGRICAN. Incident prostate cancer cases were identified through linkage with cancer registries. Exposure to 26 triazole fungicides was assessed using the crop-exposure matrix PESTIMAT (Baldi, 2017). Hazard Ratios (HR and 95%CI) were estimated using Cox models with attained age as time scale.ResultsUntil 2017, we identified 4,654 incident prostate cancer cases among AGRICAN men. 42,316 men were exposed to pesticides and 21,645 to at least one of the 26 triazole fungicides. An elevated prostate cancer risk was found with azaconazole -used on fruit growing beteween 1995 and 2003 (HR=1.21, p=0.12), with no duration effect. We also found a tendency of excess risk with exposure to myclobutanil (used on vineyard and fruit growing) for use exceeding 30 years (HR=1.43, p=0.20), and to penconazole (used on vineyard, fruit growing and tobacco) for a duration of use between 30 and 40 years (HR=1.65, p=0.16). In contrast, we found a tendency of decreased risk for exposure to tebuconazole during more than 40 years (HR=0.70, p=0.19), and for short exposure duration to triadimenol (HR<10 years=0.88, p=0.18).ConclusionsConsidering ever/never exposure, we found few associations between prostate cancer and triazoles. We will assess exposure more in depth with the calculation of life-long cumulated scores score exposure (probability x frequency x intensity), especially for triazoles associated with prostate cancer in the present analysis.
•AGRICOH analyzed cancer incidence in >248,000 agricultural workers from 6 countries.•Cancer overall occurred less in agricultural workers than in the general population.•An excess was found for ...multiple myeloma, melanoma of the skin, and prostate cancer.•Direction of risk was largely consistent across cohorts with a few deviations.•A large deficit of larynx and lung cancers was observed in nearly all cohorts.
Agricultural work can expose workers to potentially hazardous agents including known and suspected carcinogens. This study aimed to evaluate cancer incidence in male and female agricultural workers in an international consortium, AGRICOH, relative to their respective general populations.
The analysis included eight cohorts that were linked to their respective cancer registries: France (AGRICAN: n = 128,101), the US (AHS: n = 51,165, MESA: n = 2,177), Norway (CNAP: n = 43,834), Australia (2 cohorts combined, Australian Pesticide Exposed Workers: n = 12,215 and Victorian Grain Farmers: n = 919), Republic of Korea (KMCC: n = 8,432), and Denmark (SUS: n = 1,899). For various cancer sites and all cancers combined, standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for each cohort using national or regional rates as reference rates and were combined by random-effects meta-analysis.
During nearly 2,800,000 person-years, a total of 23,188 cancers were observed. Elevated risks were observed for melanoma of the skin (number of cohorts = 3, meta-SIR = 1.18, CI: 1.01–1.38) and multiple myeloma (n = 4, meta-SIR = 1.27, CI: 1.04–1.54) in women and prostate cancer (n = 6, meta-SIR = 1.06, CI: 1.01–1.12), compared to the general population. In contrast, a deficit was observed for the incidence of several cancers, including cancers of the bladder, breast (female), colorectum, esophagus, larynx, lung, and pancreas and all cancers combined (n = 7, meta-SIR for all cancers combined = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.77–0.90). The direction of risk was largely consistent across cohorts although we observed large between-cohort variations in SIR for cancers of the liver and lung in men and women, and stomach, colorectum, and skin in men.
The results suggest that agricultural workers have a lower risk of various cancers and an elevated risk of prostate cancer, multiple myeloma (female), and melanoma of skin (female) compared to the general population. Those differences and the between-cohort variations may be due to underlying differences in risk factors and warrant further investigation of agricultural exposures.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background
The etiology of the central nervous system (CNS) tumors remains largely unknown. The role of pesticide exposure has been suggested by several epidemiological studies, but with no ...definitive conclusion.
Objective
To analyze associations between occupational pesticide exposure and primary CNS tumors in adults in the CERENAT study.
Methods
CERENAT is a multicenter case–control study conducted in France in 2004–2006. Data about occupational pesticide uses—in and outside agriculture—were collected during detailed face-to-face interviews and reviewed by experts for consistency and exposure assignment. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated with conditional logistic regression.
Results
A total of 596 cases (273 gliomas, 218 meningiomas, 105 others) and 1 192 age- and sex-matched controls selected in the general population were analyzed. Direct and indirect exposures to pesticides in agriculture were respectively assigned to 125 (7.0%) and 629 (35.2%) individuals and exposure outside agriculture to 146 (8.2%) individuals. For overall agricultural exposure, we observed no increase in risk for all brain tumors (OR 1.04, 0.69–1.57) and a slight increase for gliomas (OR 1.37, 0.79–2.39). Risks for gliomas were higher when considering agricultural exposure for more than 10 years (OR 2.22, 0.94–5.24) and significantly trebled in open field agriculture (OR 3.58, 1.20–10.70). Increases in risk were also observed in non-agricultural exposures, especially in green space workers who were directly exposed (OR 1.89, 0.82–4.39), and these were statistically significant for those exposed for over 10 years (OR 2.84, 1.15–6.99).
Discussion
These data support some previous findings regarding the potential role of occupational exposures to pesticides in CNS tumors, both inside and outside agriculture.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, VSZLJ, ZAGLJ
Objective
To elaborate and describe a large prospective agricultural cohort including males and females in France with various agricultural activities and to study causes of death.
Methods
To date, ...few large prospective cohorts have been conducted among agricultural population. AGRIculture and CANcer cohort is a large prospective cohort of subjects in agriculture studying cancer among active and retired males and females, farm owners and workers, living in eleven areas of France with a population-based cancer registry.
Results
Enrollment was conducted from 2005 to 2007 with a postal questionnaire. In January 2008, 180,060 individuals (54 % males, 54 % farm owners, 50 % retired) were enrolled. Mortality was studied until December 2009 (605,956 person-years with standardized mortality ratio (SMR) by comparison with the general population of the areas. Over this period, 11,450 deaths 6,741 in men and 4,709 in women were observed, including 3,405 cancer-related deaths. SMRs were significantly reduced for global mortality (SMR = 0.68, 95 % CI 0.67
–
0.70 in males and SMR = 0.71, 95 % CI 0.69
–
0.73 in females) and for death by cancer (SMR = 0.67, 95 % CI 0.65, 0.70 in males and SMR = 0.76, 95 % C: 0.71, 0.80 in females). These results were mainly explained by less frequent smoking-related causes of death (lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases). Nonsignificant excesses of death were observed only for rheumatoid arthritis and arthrosis, suicides (in females), death for event of undetermined intent (in males) and breast cancer in male agricultural workers.
Conclusions
These first results are the first ones obtained in France based on a large prospective agricultural cohort showing that farmers would be in healthier condition than the general population.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
7.
Pesticide exposure of workers in apple growing in France Bureau, Mathilde; Béziat, Béatrix; Duporté, Geoffroy ...
International archives of occupational and environmental health,
05/2022, Volume:
95, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Objective
Although apple trees are heavily sprayed, few studies have assessed the pesticide exposure of operators and workers in apple orchards. However, these data are crucial for assessing the ...health impact of such exposures. The aim of this study was to measure pesticide exposure in apple growing according to tasks and body parts.
Methods
A non-controlled field study was conducted in apple orchards in 4 regions of France during the 2016 and 2017 treatment seasons. Workers’ external contamination and their determinants were assessed over 156 working days corresponding to 30 treatment days, 68 re-entry days and 58 harvesting days. We measured pesticide dermal contamination during each task and made detailed observations of work characteristics throughout the day. Captan and dithianon were used as markers of exposure.
Results
The median dermal contamination per day was 5.50 mg of captan and 3.33 mg of dithianon for operators, 24.39 mg of captan and 1.84 mg of dithianon for re-entry workers, and 5.82 mg of captan and 0.74 mg of dithianon for harvesters. Thus, workers performing re-entry tasks, especially thinning and anti-hail net opening, presented higher contamination, either equal to or higher than in operators. For these last ones, mixing/loading and equipment cleaning were the most contaminating tasks. Most of the contamination was observed on workers’ hands in all tasks, except for net-opening in which their heads accounted for the most daily contamination.
Conclusions
This study highlights the importance of taking indirect exposures into account during re-entry work in apple growing.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Purpose
An important challenge in epidemiology is to ensure the reliability of collected data. Very few studies have been conducted in farming populations. We assessed the reliability of ...self-reported data on lifestyle, reproductive history, health and agricultural activities and tasks from the AGRICAN cohort.
Methods
Our analysis focused on 739 individuals from the 181,842 cohort members who completed the questionnaire twice between 2005 and 2007 with a median time interval of 452 days. Consistency in the responses to questionnaire items (lifestyle, health and agricultural activities including pesticide treatments) was assessed by the percentage of exact agreement (PA), Cohen’s Kappa value (
K
) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
Results
Agreement was substantial to almost perfect for education, smoking, reproductive history and most health indicators (
K
/ICC > 0.61). Agreement was moderate for alcohol consumption and fair for diet. Agreement was substantial for animal and crop farming activities and tasks such as pesticide use on crops and protective equipment use (PA 81–99%,
K
/ICC 0.61–0.96). Most tasks showed moderate to substantial agreement, except a few with low agreement. Substantial to perfect agreement was observed for the duration of tasks, based on exact years of beginning and ending.
Conclusion
Farmers’ answers appeared reliable for most occupational data, including data used to assess individual exposure to specific pesticides, and for most potential confounders.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, VSZLJ, ZAGLJ
Agricultural activities involve the use of crop preservation such as “trench-type” silo, which can sometimes be contaminated by fungi. To investigate the exposure of livestock and farm workers to ...fungal spores and mycotoxins, a multimycotoxin analysis method has been developed. Six mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, citrinin, deoxynivalenol, gliotoxin, ochratoxin A, and zearalenone) were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry after solid-phase extraction. An experimental study of fungal species and mycotoxins was conducted in corn silage (Normandy, France) during 9 months of monitoring. The results indicated the recurrence of around 20 different species, with some of them being potentially toxigenic fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Fusarium verticillioides, and Monascus ruber, and the detection of aflatoxin B1 (4−34 ppb), citrinin (4−25 ppb), zearalenone (23−41 ppb), and deoxynivalenol (100−213 ppb). This suggested a possible chronic exposure to low levels of mycotoxins. Keywords: Corn silage; mycoflora; mycotoxins; SPE; HPLC-MS
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose: Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive tumor and is often diagnosed too late for a curative treatment. We compared
diagnostic and prognostic values of mesothelin and osteopontin in ...172 patients suspected of malignant pleural mesothelioma
(MPM) and in a control group of 112 asymptomatic asbestos-exposed subjects.
Experimental Design: Osteopontin and mesothelin were assayed with commercial ELISA kits in a series of 43 patients with pleural metastases of
various carcinomas, 33 patients with benign pleural lesions associated with asbestos exposure, 96 patients with MPMs, and
112 asbestos-exposed healthy subjects. Results were correlated with patient's diagnosis and survival.
Results: Serum osteopontin level was higher in MPM patients compared with healthy asbestos-exposed subjects and had a good capability
to distinguish between these two populations. However, osteopontin was unable to distinguish between MPM and pleural metastatic
carcinoma or benign pleural lesions associated with asbestos exposure. Neither plasma nor pleural fluid osteopontin were more
powerful in this respect. Serum mesothelin had a good ability for diagnosing MPM but was unable to identify patients with
nonepithelioid mesothelioma subtypes. Survival analysis identified tumor histologic subtype along with serum osteopontin and
serum mesothelin as independent prognostic factors in mesothelioma patients.
Conclusions: Osteopontin has a lower diagnostic accuracy than mesothelin in patients suspected of MPM. Insufficient specificity limits
osteopontin utility as diagnostic marker. Both molecules have a potential value as prognostic markers.
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