Assessment of cardiac function in farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides in gboko local government area, benue state

Abstract

Any compound or combination of substances meant to prevent, eradicate, repel, or mitigate any pest is known as a pesticide. Despite the benefits of using pesticides for pests, weeds, and disease control, there have been concerns about adverse effects of these compounds on the human health. This cross-sectional study was designed to assess the cardiac function of farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides, in Gboko Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria.One hundred ten (110) participants comprising 70 farmers and 40 controls were recruited for the study using a multi-stage random sampling technique. They were aged between 20-60 years and were age-matched. Five (5) ml of fasting blood samples were collected from each participant for the determination of Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), Apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB100) and Troponin I level using standard laboratory methods. Also, the body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of the participants were also determined. The results showed significantly lower mean BMI (23.02±3.94 Vs 24.94±3.12; p= 0.031) and serum ApoA1 (150.73±13.52 Vs 167.27±15.65; p=0.024) while the mean SBP (140.49±19.34 Vs 119.75±10.30; p=0.000), DBP (82.86±12.16 Vs 77.53±7.76; p=0.014) and mean serum Troponin-I (3.11±5.46 Vs 1.38±0.15; p=0.049) levels were significantly higher in the farmers compared to control respectively. However, there was no significant difference in the mean serum ApoB-100 level in the farmers when compared to the control group (p=0.104). : This study showed that the farmers had lower body mass index and higher serum levels of apoA-I, apoB-100, and Troponin I, as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as compared to the control group. Nonetheless, in both the test and control groups, these results fell within the typical reference ranges. Further longitudinal research is required to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of pesticide exposure on cardiac function in farmers.