Zafer Hasan Ali SAK, Şerif KURTULUŞ, Birsen OCAKLI, Zehra Nur TÖREYİN, İbrahim BAYHAN, M. İrfan YEŞİLNACAR, Metin AKGÜN, İlknur ARSLANOĞLU, Peri Meram ARBAK

The relationship between particulate matter and childhood respiratory complaints and peak expiratory flows in Harran agricultural area

Background. In recent years, many studies have evaluated the increasing incidence of asthma and chronic respiratory diseases among children living close to rural areas with pesticide application. Pesticide exposure in 266 children (126 girls and 140 boys) in Şanlıurfa, a cotton-producing province in Turkey, was explored in this work. Four different villages spread over 40 km 2 were included. Methods. Measurements of peak expiratory flow (PEF) in 266 children were conducted in late June, before intensive pesticide applications in the cotton-producing fields. The measurements were repeated for 72 of 266 children after pesticide application in late August. PEF, particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5 ), particulate matter with diameter less than 10 μm (PM10 ), temperature, humidity, and wind speed were measured. Results. After pesticide application, mean PM 2.5 and PM10 values were significantly increased compared to before pesticide application (p < 0.001 for both parameters). After pesticide exposure, nasal discharge, sneezing, burning and itching in the eyes, cough, sputum production, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness were significantly increased (p < 0.001). The mean PEF value was demonstrated to decrease significantly after pesticide application (p < 0.001). Moreover, significant negative correlations were noted between PEF and PM 10 and between PEF and PM2.5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions. Intensive pesticide application causes respiratory dysfunction and increased respiratory complaints in children living near the affected agricultural areas, and impacts quality of life adversely. The results of this work can be used to develop an early warning system and methods to prevent respiratory disorders in children residing in the study area.

PDF

___

1. American Academy of Pediatrics .Roberts JR, Karr CJ; Council on Environmental Health. Pesticide exposure in children. Pediatrics 2012; 130: e1765-e1788.

2. Lu C, Fenske RA, Simcox NJ, Kalman D, Pesticide exposure of children in an agricultural community: evidence of household proximity to farmland and take home exposure pathways. Environ Res 2000; 84: 290-302.

3. Harnly ME, Bradman A, Nishioka M, et al. Pesticides in dust from homes in an agricultural area. Environ Sci Technol 2009; 43: 8767-8774.

4. Raanan R, Balmes JR, Harley KG, et al. Decreased lung function in 7-year-old children with early-life organophosphate exposure. Thorax 2016; 71: 148- 153.

5. Haryanto B. Air Pollution A Comprehensive Perspective. Croatia: InTech, 2012. Available at: https://www.intechopen.com/books/air-pollution-a- comprehensive-perspective (Accessed on April 16, 2021).

6. Lopez A, Yusa V, Muñoz A, et al. Risk assessment of airborne pesticides in a Mediterranean region of Spain. Sci Total Environ 2017; 574: 724-734.

7. Nascimento MM, da Rocha GO, de Andrade JB. Pesticides in fine airborne particles: from a green analysis method to atmospheric characterization and risk assessment. Sci Rep 2017; 7: 2267.

8. Varga, G, Újvári G, Kovács, J. Spatiotemporal patterns of Saharan dust outbreaks in the Mediterranean Basin. Aeolian Res 2014; 15: 151-160.

9. Rastgeldi Dogan T, Saydam AC, Yesilnacar MI, Gencer M. In-cloud alteration of desert-dust matrix and its possible impact on health: a test in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. Eur J Mineral 2010; 22: 659-664.

10. MacLean JE, Fitzgerald DA, Waters KA. Developmental changes in sleep and breathing across infancy and childhood. Paediatr Respir Rev 2015; 16: 276-284.

11. Bateson TF, Schwartz J. Children’s response to air pollutants. J Toxicol Environ Health Part A 2008; 71: 238-243.

12. UNICEF. Clear the air for children. UNICEF Publications, 2016. Available at: https://www.unicef. org/reports/clean-air-children. (Accessed on April 16, 2021.)

13. Bayer-Oglesby L, Grize L, Gassner M, et al. Decline of ambient air pollution levels and improved respiratory health in Swiss children. Environ Health Perspect 2005; 113: 1632-1637.

14. Mehta B, Garg K, Ambwani S, Bhandari B, Bhagat OL. Peak expiratory flow rate: a useful tool for early detection of airway obstruction in school children. Open Med J 2016; 3: 159-165.

15. Pedersen OF, Miller MR, Sigsgaard T, Tidley M, Harding RM. Portable peak flow meters: physical characteristics, influence of temperature, altitude, and humidity. Eur Respir J1994; 7: 991-997.

16. Hong YC, Pan XC, Kim SY, et al. Asian dust storm and pulmonary function of school children in Seoul. Sci Total Environ 2010; 408: 754-759.

17. Pesticide Market Estimates: 2006-2007. Available at: http://www.epa.gov (Accessed on November 15, 2019).

18. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Database on Pesticides Consumption. Available at: http://www.fao.org (Accessed on November 15, 2019).

19. Vrijheid M, Casas M, Gascon M, Valvi D, Nieuwenhuijsen M. Environmental pollutants and child health-A review of recent concerns. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2016; 219: 331-342.

20. Steenland K, Mora AM, Barr DB, Juncos J, Roman N, Wesseling C. Organochlorine chemicals and neurodegeneration among elderly subjects in Costa Rica. Environ Res 2014; 134: 205-209.

21. Sagiv SK, Thurston SW, Bellinger DC, Tolbert PE, Altshul LM, Korrick SA. Prenatal organochlorine exposure and behaviours associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in school-aged children. Am J Epidemiol 2010; 171: 593-601.

22. Saunders L, Kadhel P, Costet N, et al. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus among French Caribbean women chronically exposed to chlordecone. Environ Int 2014; 68: 171-176.

23. Freire C, Koifman RJ, Sarcinelli PN, Rosa ACS, Clapauch R, Koifman S. Association between serum levels of organochlorine pesticides and sex hormones in adults living in a heavily contaminated area in Brazil. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2014; 217: 370-78.

24. O’Malley M. Clinical evaluation of pesticide exposure and poisonings. Lancet 1997; 349: 1161- 1166.

25. Sanborn MD, Cole D, Abelsohn A, Weir E. Identifying and managing adverse environmental health effects: 4 Pesticides. Can Med Assoc J 2002; 166: 1431-1436.

26. Alif SM, Dharmage SC, Benke G, et al. Occupational exposure to pesticides are associated with fixed airflow obstruction in middle-age. Thorax 2017; 72: 990-997.

27. Raanan R, Harley KG, Balmes JR, Bradman A, Lipsett M, Eskenazi B, Early-life exposure to organophosphate pesticides and pediatric respiratory symptoms in the CHAMACOS cohort. Environ Health Perspect 2015; 123: 179-185.

28. Ndlovu V, Dalvie MA, Jeebhay MF. Asthma associated with pesticide exposure among women in rural Western Cape of South Africa. Am J Ind Med 2014; 57: 1331-1343.

29. Hoppin JA, Umbach DM, London SJ, et al. Pesticide use and adult-onset asthma among male farmers in the Agricultural Health Study. Eur Respir J 2009; 34: 1296-1303.

30. Hoppin JA, Valcin M, Henneberger PK, et al. Pesticide use and chronic bronchitis among farmers in the agricultural health study. Amer J Ind Med 2007; 50: 969-979.

31. Ceylan E. Şanlıurfa’da tahıl polen duyarlılığı ve astım kliniğine etkisi. Klinik ve Analitik Tıp Dergisi 2012; 3: 328-330.

32. Bıçakçı A, Çelenk S, Altunoglu MK, et al. Allergenic airborne Gramineae (Grass) pollen concentrations in Turkey. Türkiye’de allerjenik gramineae (çayır, çimen vb.) polenlerinin havadaki dağılımları. Asthma Allergy Immunol 2009; 7: 90-99.

33. Clougherty JE. A growing role for gender analysis in air pollution epidemiology. Environ Health Perspect 2010; 118: 167-176.

34. World Health Organization. Environmental Health Criteria 99 Cyhalothrin. Geneva, Switzerland, 1990. Available at: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/ handle/20.500.11822/29411/EHC99Cyhathn. pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed on April 16, 2021).

35. Lambda-cyhalothrin; pesticide tolerances. Fed Regist 1998; 63: 7291-7299.

36. He F, Wang S, Liu L, Chen S, Zhang Z, Sun J, Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of acute pyrethroid poisoning. Arch Toxicol 1989; 63: 54-58.

37. Pauluhn J, Steffens W, Haas J, et al. Toxicologic evaluation of pyrethroids in indoor air: demonstrated with the example of cyfluthrin and permethrin. Gesundheitswesen 1996; 58: 551-556.

38. Moretto A. Indoor spraying with the pyrethroid insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin: effects on spraymen and inhabitants of sprayed houses. Bull World Health Organ 1991; 69: 591-94.

39. Mekonnen Y, Agonafir T. Lung function and respiratory symptoms of pesticide sprayers in state farms of Ethiopia. Ethiop Med J 2004; 42: 261-266.

40. Curl CL, Fenske RA, Kissel JC, et al. Evaluation of take-home organophosphorus pesticide exposure among agricultural workers and their children. Environ Health Perspect 2002; 110: A787-A792.

41. Mo X, Zhang L, Li H, Qu Z. A novel air quality early- warning system based on artificial intelligence. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019; 16: 3505.