Association between Haematological Parameters and Exposure to a Mixture of Organophosphate and Neonicotinoid Insecticides among Male Farmworkers in Northern Thailand.

Neeranuch Suwannarin,Tawiwan Pantasri,Tippawan Prapamontol,Somporn Chantara,Ampica Mangklabruks,Shoji F Nakayama,Tomohiko Isobe,Warangkana Naksen,Yukiko Nishihama

doi:10.3390/ijerph182010849

Abstract

Exposure to insecticides may result in various health problems. This study investigated the association between haematological parameters and exposure to a mixture of organophosphate (OP) and neonicotinoid (NEO) insecticides among male farmworkers in Fang district, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. Concentrations of urinary dialkylphosphates, non-specific metabolites of OPs, and NEOs and their metabolites and haematological parameters were measured in 143 male farmworkers. The Bayesian kernel machine regression model was employed to evaluate the associations. Exposure to a mixture of insecticides was significantly associated with the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) when the concentrations of all the compounds and their metabolites were at the 60th percentile or higher compared with the 50th percentile. Furthermore, exposure to clothianidin (CLO) showed a decreasing association with MCHC when all the other insecticides were at their mean concentrations. CLO was the most likely compound to reduce MCHC, and this was confirmed by sensitivity analysis. These findings suggest that exposure to NEO insecticides, especially CLO, affects the haematological status relating to haemoglobin parameters.

Highlights

mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) significantly decreased when the concentrations of all the compounds and their metabolites were at the 60th percentile or higher compared with the 50th percentile, indicating a negative association with MCHC
The current study found that urinary DAP and NEO and Their Metabolite (NEO/m) concentrations of male farmworkers engaged in agriculture in Chiang Mai province were higher than in our previous study [16]
The current study revealed that exposure to a mixture of DAP and NEO/m was significantly associated with MCHC

Summary

Introduction

Organophosphates (OPs) are an important type of insecticide that has been widely used in agriculture over a long period of time [1,2]. Biomonitoring studies have shown that farmers/farmworkers and pest control operators engaged in agriculture are at high risk of exposure to OPs differing from non-occupational populations such as food contributors and consumers [3,4]. Exposure to OP insecticides can be assessed through measuring urinary common dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites including dimethylphosphate (DMP), dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP), dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP), diethylphosphate 4.0/).

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion