Introduction: Agriculture remains an important sector in the Malaysian economy and pesticides are widely used in this sector. The use of pesticides poses a serious health threat to the population especially occupationally exposed populations. However, there is limited information on pesticide exposure and their health effects among farmers in Malaysia. Hence, the aims of this study were to assess pesticide exposure and investigate the health impact of pesticide use. Methods: A cohort study was conducted in Bachok and Kota Bharu districts, Kelantan state, east coast of Malaysia between September 2018 and February 2019. Information on demographics, general health, working practices and pesticide exposure was collected. A symptom diary was used to collect data on self-reported ill-health symptoms for seven days. The symptoms were categorised into pyrexial and respiratory factors based on previous published literature. Pesticide spraying was observed in order to complete the Dermal Exposure Assessment Method (DREAM) and pesticide exposure algorithms used to estimate exposure intensity scores based on Agricultural Health Study (AHS) and Ethiopian Farmer Study (EFS). Urine samples were collected in pre- and post-spraying and were analysed by using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Associations between pesticide exposure and self-reported ill-health were examined. Results: 150 farmers growing either rice (n=83) or vegetables/fruits (n=67) participated. For farmers who reported using a specific pesticide, urine levels of the pesticide metabolite post-spraying were higher than pre-spraying levels for chlorpyrifos (p
- pesticide
- DREAM
- urine metabolite
PESTICIDE EXPOSURE AND ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS IN MALAYSIAN FARMERS
Sidek Ahmad, Z. N. (Author). 31 Dec 2021
Student thesis: Phd