Abstract
The use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) is a worldwide public health concern given that high levels of these compounds in humans and animals can lead to serious health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of 15 organochlorine pesticides in the serum of 547 blood donors in the São Paulo metropolitan region (SPMR) in 2009 and to investigate factors associated with higher levels of these compounds. The OCPs were determined by gas chromatography with micro electron capture detection. Multiple ordinal logistic regression models were employed to determine the factors associated with higher levels. Only β-HCH and p,p’-DDE had a significant number of samples above the limit of quantification. Factors associated with higher levels of β-HCH were age within 26 to 35 years (OR = 3.1 [1.05–9.09]), age within 36 to 45 years (OR = 18.27 [6.89–48.91]), and female gender (OR = 0.44 [0.24–0.82] for men). p,p’-DDE levels were associated with age within 26 to 35 years (OR = 2.65 [1.20–3.45]), age within 36 to 45 years (OR = 4.59 [2.64–7.92]), female gender (OR = 0.86 [0.43–0.94] for men), and previous work with pesticides (OR = 2.88 [1.22–6.84]). Lower levels of p,p’-DDE were associated with an income of 3 to 5 minimum wages (OR = 0.38 [0.19–0.75]) and with intake of foods from animal origin up to twice a week (OR = 0.15 [0.03–0.72]) and more than twice a week (OR = 0.10 [0.02–0.47]). The results of this study indicate that the study group was not exposed to high levels of OCPs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almeida W. F. (1972). Níveis sanguíneos de DDT em Indivíduos Profissionalmente Expostos e em Pessoas sem Exposição Direta a este Inseticida no Brasil. PhD thesis, Faculty of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Angerer, J., Ewers, U., & Wilhelm, M. (2007). Human biomonitoring: state of the art. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 210, 201–228.
ANVISA. (2009). Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária. Programa de análise de resíduos de agrotóxicos em alimentos (PARA). Relatório de atividades de 2009. Available: http://portal.anvisa.gov.br/wps/content/Anvisa+Portal/Anvisa/Inicio/Agrotoxicos+e+Toxicologia/Assuntos+de+Interesse/Programa+de+Analise+de+Residuos+de+Agrotoxicos+em+Alimentos [accessed October 2015].
Arrebola, J. P., Mutch, E., Rivero, M., Choque, A., Silvestre, S., Olea, N., et al. (2012). Contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, occupation, diet and lifestyle to DDT and DDE concentrations in serum and adipose tissue from a Bolivian cohort. Environment International, 38, 54–61.
Arrebola, J. P., Fernández, M. F., Olea, N., Ramos, R., & Olmedo, P. (2013). Human exposure to p,p’- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) in urban and semi-rural areas in southeast Spain: A gender perspective. Sci Total Environ, 458-460, 209–216.
ATSDR. (2002). Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry. Toxicological profile for DDT, DDE and DDD. Atlanta. Available: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp35.pdf [accessed January 2015].
Bjermo, H., Darnerud, P. O., Lignell, S., Pearson, M., Rantakokko, P., Nälsén, C., et al. (2013). Fish intake and breastfeeding time are associated with serum concentrations of organochlorines in a Swedish population. Environment International, 51, 88–96.
Brasil. Lei n° 11.936, de 14 de maio de 2009. (2009). Proíbe a fabricação, importação, a manutenção em estoque, a comercialização e o uso de diclorodifeniltricloretano (DDT) e dá outras providências. [accessed jan 2015]. Available: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2009/Lei/L11936.htm.
Carvalho, W. A. (1991). Fatores de risco relacionados com exposição ocupacional e ambiental a inseticidas organoclorados no estado da Bahia, Brasil, 1985. Bol Of Sanit Panam., 111, 512–524.
Charlier, J. C., & Plomteux, G. J. (2002). Determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in the blood of healthy individuals. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 40(4), 361–364.
Cruz, S., Lino, C., & Silveira, M. I. (2003). Evaluation of organochlorine pesticide residues in human serum from an urban and two rural populations in Portugal. Sci Total Environ., 317, 23–35.
Delgado, I. F., Barreto, H. H., Kussumi, T. A., Alleluia, I. B., Baggio, C. A., & Paumgartten, F. J. R. (2002). Serum levels of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls among inhabitants of Greater Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cad Saude Publica, 18, 519–524.
Fernicola, N. A., & Azevedo, F. A. (1982). Serum levels of organochlorine insecticides in humans in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 24(2), 91–93.
Gasull, M., Bosch de, B. M., Puigdomenech, E., Pumarega, J., & Porta, M. (2011). Empirical analyses of the influence of diet on human concentrations of persistent organic pollutants: a systematic review of all studies conducted in Spain. Environment International, 37, 1226–1235.
Hanaoka, T., Takahashi, Y., Kobayashi, M., Sasaki, S., Usuda, M., Okubo, S., et al. (2002). Residuals of β-hexachlorocyclohexane, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and hexachlorobenzene in serum, and relations with consumption of dietary components in rural residents in Japan. Sci Total Environ., 286, 119–127.
Hassine, S. B., Hammami, B., Ameur, W. B., et al. (2014). Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in human serum and their relation with age, gender and BMI for general population of Bizerte, Tunisia. Environ Sci Pollut Res, 21, 6303–6313.
Health Canada. (2010). Report on human biomonitoring of environmental chemicals in Canada. Ontario: Health Canada Available: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index-eng.php. [accessed January 2015].
Jakszyn, P., Goñi, F., Etxeandia, A., Vives, A., Millán, E., Lópes, R., et al. (2009). Serum levels of organochlorine pesticides in healthy adults from five regions of Spain. Chemosphere, 76, 1518–1524.
Lara, W. H., Barreto, H. C. C., & Inomata, O. N. K. (1987). Níveis de pesticidas organoclorados em soro sanguíneo de pessoas expostas à doença de Chagas no Brasil. Revista do Instituto Adolfo Lutz, 47, 19–24.
Lee, D. H., Lee, I. K., Song, K., Steffes, M., Toscano, W., Baker, B. A., et al. (2006). A strong dose-response relation between serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants and diabetes. Diabetes Care, 29, 1638–1644.
Lópes-Flores I, González-Alzaga B, Casal A, Lacasaña M. (2009). Exposición laboral a plaguicidas y efectos em la salut: contribución de factores biológicos y sociales. In: Sanín-Aguirre LH, Cedillo I, Guevara-Godínez RM, editors. Chihuahua, México. Género Salut y Ambiente Laboral.
Mendonça, G. A., Eluf-Neto, J., Andrada-Serpa, M. J., et al. (1999). Organochlorines and breast cancer: a case-control study in Brazil. International Journal of Cancer, 83, 596–600.
Minelli, E. V., & Ribeiro, M. L. (1996). DDT and HCH residues in the blood serum of malaria control sprayers. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 57, 691–696.
Mnif, W., Hassine, A. I. H., Bouaziz, A., Bartegi, A., Thomas, O., & Roig, B. (2011). Effect of endocrine disruptor pesticides: a review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8, 2265–2303.
Nakata, H., Kawazoe, M., Arizono, K., Abe, S., Kitano, T., Shimada, H., et al. (2002). Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl residues in foodstuffs and human tissues from China: status of contamination, historical trend, and human dietary exposure. Arch Environ Con Tox., 43, 473–480.
Oliveira-Silva, J. J., Alves, S. R., Meyer, A., Perez, F., Sarcinelli, P. N., da Costa Mattos, R. C., et al. (2001). Influence of socioeconomic factors on the pesticides poisoning, Brazil. Rev Saude Publ, 5, 130–135.
Paumgartten, F. J. R., Delgado, I. F., Oliveira, E. S., Alleluia, I. B., Barreto, H. H. C., & Kussomi, T. A. (1998). Levels of organochlorine pesticides in the blood serum of agricultural workers from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 14, 33–39.
Porta, M., López, T., Gasull, M., Rodríguez-Sanz, M., Garí, M., Pumarega, J., et al. (2012). Distribution of blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in a representative sample of the population of Barcelona in 2006, and comparison with levels in 2002. Sci Total Environ., 423, 151–161.
Radomski, J. L., Deichmann, W. B., Rey, A. A., & Merkin, T. (1971). Human pesticide blood levels as a measure of body burden and pesticide exposure. Toxicol Appl Pharm., 20, 175–185.
Rojas-Squella, X., Santos, L., Baumann, W., Landaeta, D., Jaimes, A., Correa, J. C., et al. (2013). Presence of organochlorine pesticides in breast milk samples from Colombian women. Chemosphere, 91, 733–739.
Sala, M., Sunyer, J., Otero, R., Santiago-Silva, M., Camps, C., & Grimalt, J. (1999). Organochlorine in the serum of inhabitants living near an electrochemical factory. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56, 152–158.
Stellman, S. D., Djordjevic, M. V., Muscat, J. E., et al. (1998). Relative abundance of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in adipose tissue and serum of women in Long Island, New York. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 7, 489–496.
Turnbull, A. (1996). Chlorinated pesticides. Issues in Environ. Sci Technol., 6, 113–135.
UNEP. (2006). United Nations Environment Programme. Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee. Report of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee on the work of its second meeting. (UNEP/POPS/POPRC. 2/17/Add.4). Geneva: UNEP. Available: http://chm.pops.int/TheConvention/POPsReviewCommittee/Reports/tabid/2301/Default.aspx [accessed jan 2015].
USEPA. (1980). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Manual of analytical methods for the analysis of pesticides in human and environmental samples. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Contract No: 68-02-2474.
USEPA. (2003). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Health effects support for aldrin/dieldrin. Washington DC, (EPA 822-R-03-001). Available: http://water.epa.gov/action/advisories/drinking/upload/2004_1_16_support_cc1_aldrin-dieldrin_healtheffects.pdf [accessed March 2015].
USEPA. (2015). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Integrated Risk Information System. Available: http://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status [accessed March 2016].
Wang, H. S., Chen, Z. J., Wei, W., Man, Y. B., Giesy, J. P., Du, J., et al. (2013). Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in human blood plasma from Hong Kong: markers of exposure and sources from fish. Environ Int, 54, 18–25.
WHO. (1997). World Health Organization. Hexachlorobenzene. Geneva (Environmental Health Criteria 195). Available: http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc195.htm [accessed jan 2015].
Yang, R., Wang, Y., Li, A., Zhang, Q., Jing, C., Wang, T., et al. (2010). Organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in fish from lakes of the Tibetan Plateau and the implications. Environmental Pollution., 158, 2310–2316.
Zhou, R., Zhu, L., Yang, K., & Chen, Y. (2006). Distribution of organochlorine pesticides in surface water and sediments form Qiantang River, East China. Journal of Hazardous Materials A., 137, 68–75.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Brazilian Ministry of Health for funding this study, the Beneficent Association of Blood Donors–Colsan, where the blood donors were recruited, and to the blood donors who agreed to participate.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
do Nascimento, F.P., Kuno, R., Lemes, V.R.R. et al. Organochlorine pesticides levels and associated factors in a group of blood donors in São Paulo, Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 189, 380 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6072-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6072-6