Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pesticide consumption, central nervous system and cardiovascular congenital malformations in the South and Southeast region of Brazil

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the association between per capita pesticide consumption and infant mortality rates from CNS and CVS congenital malformations in microregions in the South and Southeast Region of Brazil.

Material and Methods

An ecological study was conducted using data on pesticide expenditure in 1985 and 1996, and deaths caused by CNS and CVS malformations in infants under 1 year old in 1986–1990 and 1997–2001, respectively. Per capita pesticide consumption and infant mortality rates were calculated for each microregion. Microregions were grouped according to quintiles of pesticide consumption, taking the first quintile as reference. The association between pesticide consumption and infant mortality was examined by calculating Spearman correlation coefficients (r) and mortality rate ratios (RR), stratifying by gender and type of microregion (urban or rural).

Results

Significant and positive correlations between per capita pesticide consumption and rates of mortality due to CNS and CVS defects were observed in rural but not urban microregions. In general, mortality RRs for the 2 types of malformations in rural microregions were significantly higher in each quintile of pesticide consumption compared to the lowest quintile in the 2 study periods, with elevations ranging between 10% and 30%. Likewise, mortality RRs in these microregions showed significant trends of increase across quintiles of pesticide consumption in both study periods. In urban areas, however, mortality RRs from both CNS and CVS malformations were weak and not statistically significant, and a trend of increase of mortality with increasing pesticide usage was not observed.

Conclusions

The results show the relevance of pesticide exposure in rural areas with intense agricultural activity, suggesting that such prenatal exposures may be related with the occurrence of certain congenital defects.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Horovitz DDG, Llerena Júnior JC, Mattos RA. Birth defects and health strategies in Brazil: An overview. Cad Saude Publica. 2005;21(4):1055–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Shi L, Chia SE. A review of studies on maternal occupational exposure and birth defects, and the limitations associated with these studies. Occup Med (Lond). 2001;51(4):230–44.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Thulstrup AM, Bonde JP. Maternal occupational exposure and risk of specific birth defects. Occup Med. 2006;56:532–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Winchester PD, Huskins J, Ying J. Agrichemicals in surface water and birth defects in the United States. Acta Paediatr. 2009;98(4):664–9, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.01207.x.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Monlleo IL, Gil-da-Silva-Lopes VL. Craniofacial anomalies: Description and evaluation of treatment under the Brazilian Unified Health System. Cad Saude Publica. 2006;22(5): 913–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Pereira PMH, Frias PG, Carvalho PI, Vidal SA, Figueiroa JN. [Hospital neonatal mortality in cohort of newborns in a maternity school in the Northeastern Region of Brazil, 2001–2003]. Epidemiol Servicos Saude. 2006;15(4):19–28. Portuguese.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Guerra FAR, Llerena Jr. JC, Gama SGN, Cunha CB, Theme Filha MM. Birth defects in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: An evaluation through birth certificates (2000–2004). Cad Saude Publica. 2008;24:140–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Luquetti DV, Koifman RJ. Quality of reporting on birth defects in birth certificates: Case study from a Brazilian reference hospital. Cad Saude Publica. 2009;25(8): 1721–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hoffman J, Christianson R. Congenital heart disease in a cohort of 19.502 births with long-term follow-up. Am J Cardiol. 1978;42:641–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, Benjamin EJ, Berry JD, Borden WD, et al. Writing Group Members, American Heart Association. Heart disease and stroke statistics — 2012 Update. Circulation. 2012;125:e2–e220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Finnell RH, Gelineau-van Waes J, Bennett GD, Barber RC, Wlodarczyk B, Shaw GM, et al. Genetic basis of susceptibility to environmentally induced neural tube defects. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2000;919:261–77.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Jenkins KJ, Correa A, Feinstein JA, Botto L, Britt AE, Daniels SR, et al. American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young. Non-inherited risk factors and congenital cardiovascular defects: Current knowledge: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young: Endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Circulation. 2007;115(23):2995–3014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Sever LE. Looking for causes of neural tube defects: Where does the environment fit in? Environ Health Perspect. 1995;103(Suppl 6):165–71.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Selevan SG, Kimmel CA, Mendola P. Identifying critical windows of exposure for children’s health. Environ Health Perspect. 2000;108(Suppl 3):451–5.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Woodruff TJ, Carlson A, Schwartz MJ, Giudice LC. Proceedings of the summit on environmental challenges to reproductive health and fertility: Executive summary. Fertil Steril. 2008;89:281–300, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.10.002.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bell EM, Hertz-Picciotto I, Beaumout JJ. A case-control study of pesticides and fetal death due to congenital anomalies. Epidemiology. 2001;12:148–56.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Brender JD, Felkner M, Suarez L, Canfield MA, Henry JP. Maternal pesticide exposure and neural tube defects in Mexican Americans. Ann Epidemiol. 2010;20(1):16–22, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.09.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Garry VF, Schreinemachers D, Harkins ME, Griffith J. Pesticide appliers, biocides, and birth defects in rural Minnesota. Environ Health Perspect. 1996;104(4):394–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Shaw GM, Wasserman CR, O’Malley CD. Maternal pesticide exposures as risk factors for orofacial clefts and neural tube defects. Am J Epidemiol. 1995;141(Suppl 11):S3.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Silva TP, Moreira JC, Peres F. Are tick medications pesticides? Implications for health and risk perception for workers in the dairy cattle sector. Cien Saude Colet. 2012;17:311–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Garcia AM, Fletcher T, Benavides FG, Orts E. Parental agricultural work and selected congenital malformations. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;149:64–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Lacasaña M, Vázquez-Grameix H, Borja-Aburto VH, Blanco-Muñoz J, Romieu I, Aguilar-Garduño C, et al. Maternal and paternal occupational exposure to agricultural work and the risk of anencephaly. Occup Environ Med. 2006;63(10):649–56, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oem.2005.023333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rull RP, Ritz B, Shaw GM. Neural tube defects and maternal residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications. Am J Epidemiol. 2006;163:743–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Loffredo CA, Silbergeld EK, Ferencz C, Zhang J. Association of transposition of the great arteries in infants with maternal exposures to herbicides and rodenticides. Am J Epidemiol. 2001;153(6):529–36.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Munger R, Kramer M, Hanson J, Burns T, Cherryholmes K, Hansler W Jr. Birth defects and pesticide-contaminated water supplies in Iowa. Presented at the Society for Epidemiologic Research meeting, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 9–12 June 1992. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1992;919:261–77.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Merchant DL, Stallones L, Keefer S, Rickard R. An ecologic analysis of congenital anomalies and agricultural chemicals in Colorado, 1989–1991. J Agr Saf Health. 1996;2(4): 197–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Brazilian Health Ministry. Office for Health Access. Department of Strategic Action Planning. Occupational Health Technical Area. [Guidelines for the integral assistance to occupational health of differential complexity. Pesticide-exposed workers health assistance protocol]. Brasilia (DF): Health Ministry; 2006. Portuguese.

    Google Scholar 

  28. De Siqueira MT, Braga C, Cabral-Filho JE, Augusto LG, Figueiroa JN, Souza AI. Correlation between pesticide use in agriculture and adverse birth outcomes in Brazil: An ecological study. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2010;84(6): 647–51, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00128-010-0027-8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Health Information Department of the Unified National Health System (DATASUS), Brazilian Ministry of Health [cited 2014 March 31]. Available from: www.datasus.saude.gov.br. Portuguese.

  30. Sindicato Nacional da Industria de Produtos para Defesa Agricola. [Agropecuary production house] [cited 2013 March 20]. Available from: http://www.sindag.com.br/dados_mercado.php. Portuguese.

  31. Peres F, Rozemberg B, de Lucca SR. Risk perception related to work in a rural community of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil: pesticides, health, and environment. Cad Saude Publica. 2005;21:1836–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Peres F, Moreira JC, Rodrigues KM, Claudio L. Risk perception and communication regarding pesticide use in rural work: A case study in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2006;12:400–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Ribeiro MG, Colasso CG, Monteiro PP, Pedreira Filho WR, Yonamine M. Occupational safety and health practices among flower greenhouses workers from Alto Tietê region (Brazil). Sci Total Environ. 2012;416:121–6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.11.002.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Peres F, Rodrigues KM, da Silva Peixoto Belo MS, Moreira JC, Claudio L. Design of risk communication strategies based on risk perception among farmers exposed to pesticides in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Am J Ind Med. 2013;56:77–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Schreinemachers DM. Birth malformations and other adverse perinatal outcomes in four U.S. Wheat-producing states. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111:1259–64.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Shaw GM, Wasserman CR, O’Malley CD, Nelson V, Jackson RJ. Maternal pesticide exposure from multiple sources and selected congenital anomalies. Epidemiology. 1999;10:60–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Ren A, Qiu X, Jin L, Ma J, Li Z, Zhang L, et al. Association of selected persistent organic pollutants in the placenta with the risk of neural tube defects. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011;108(31):12770–5, http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1105209108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Farag AT, El Okazy AM, El-Aswed AF. Developmental toxicity study of chlorpyrifos in rats. Reprod Toxicol. 2003;17:203–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Slotkin TA. Cholinergic systems in brain development and disruption by neurotoxicants: nicotine, environmental tobacco smoke, organophosphates. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2004;198:132–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Yoon CS, Jin JH, Park JH, et al. The fungicide benomyl inhibits differentiation of neural tissue in the Xenopus embryo and animal cap explants. Environ Toxicol. 2003;18:327–37.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Buslovich S, Aleksashina ZA, Kolosovskaia VM. [Effect of phenobarbital on the embryotoxic action of 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid]. Farmakol Toksikol. 1979;42:167–70. Russian.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Yasuda M, Maeda H. Teratogenic effects of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid ethylester (MCPEE) in rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1972;23:326–33.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Sutton PD, Ventura SJ, Menacker F, Munson ML. Births: final data for 2003. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2005;54:1–11

    Google Scholar 

  44. Costa CMS, Gama SGN, Leal MC. [Congenital malformations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: prevalence and associated factors]. Cad Saude Publica. 2006;22:2423–31. Portuguese.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Soares W, Almeida RM, Moro S. [Rural work and risk factors associated with pesticide use in Minas Gerais, Brazil]. Cad Saude Publica. 2003;19(4):1117–27. Portuguese.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment and Public Health Post-graduation Program, National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Cleber Cremonese, Carmen Freire & Sergio Koifman

  2. Instituto de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva (IESC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Ariana Machado De Camargo & Armando Meyer

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Jaime Silva De Lima

  4. Environment and Public Health Post-graduation Program, National School of Public Health, FIOCRUZ, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões 1480, CEP: 21041-210, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Carmen Freire

Authors
  1. Cleber Cremonese
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carmen Freire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ariana Machado De Camargo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jaime Silva De Lima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sergio Koifman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Armando Meyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carmen Freire.

Additional information

This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Health, the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), and the CAPES (“Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior”). Cleber Cremonese has a CAPES predoctoral grant, Carmen Freire has a “Jovens Talentos” grant (number A022-2013) from the CNPq (Science Without Borders Program). Jaime Lima and Armando Meyer are supported by the CNPq (“Bolsa de Produtividade em Pesquisa”). Sergio Koifman is supported by the CNPq (grant number 308986/2010-5 and INCT-Cancer Control) and FAPERJ (grant E-26/102.869/2012).

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cremonese, C., Freire, C., De Camargo, A.M. et al. Pesticide consumption, central nervous system and cardiovascular congenital malformations in the South and Southeast region of Brazil. IJOMEH 27, 474–486 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s13382-014-0269-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s13382-014-0269-5

Key words

Search

Navigation