Cancer Mortality among Agricultural Workers in the Midwest Region of Brazil

Abstract

TPS 791: Occupational health 1, Exhibition Hall, Ground floor, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background/Aim: Brazil ranks among the top 5 agricultural exporting countries of the world and also has been leading pesticides use in the last years. The Midwest region is of particular interest because it has experienced vast agricultural land expansion and economy development due to primary agricultural products, such as soybean exportation. This study focused on association between pesticide use in Midwestern Brazil and cancer outcomes. Research has focused on agricultural workers due to their occupational exposure to pesticides. Methods: An ecological study approach investigated mortality rates in solid tumors that included esophageal, stomach and prostate cancer and the hematologic cancers non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia amongst agricultural workers aged 15 or older and older. The study analyzed exposure and mortality data extracted from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Mortality Information System (SIM/DATASUS), for the years 1996 to 2016. Results: Mortality odds ratios (MOR) showed that agricultural workers in the Midwest region had significantly higher odds of dying from esophageal cancer (MOR: 1.97; 95% CI: 1.80-2.17), stomach cancer (MOR: 1.42; 95%CI: 1.32-1.54) and prostate cancer (MOR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.38-1.57) compared to non-agricultural workers. Esophageal cancer odds ratio was the highest among agricultural workers in the state of Goiás compared to non-agricultural workers (MOR: 2.37; 95% CI 2.05-2.73). Calculated MORs for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was only significantly higher for male agricultural workers in Goias (MOR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.32) and leukemia did not show statistically significant results. Conclusions: Association between pesticides exposure data and risk of cancer was observed on agricultural workers in Midwestern Brazil, although addressing causal cancer development requires further research on the multiple risk factors to establish further evidence of the detrimental health effects this can cause on agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides.