Employment in the Ecuadorian cut-flower industry and the risk of spontaneous abortion

Alexis J Handal,Sioban D Harlow

doi:10.1186/1472-698x-9-25

Alexis J Handal, Sioban D Harlow

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-698x-9-25

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Abstract

BackgroundResearch on the potentially adverse effects of occupational pesticide exposure on risk of spontaneous abortion (SAB) is limited, particularly among female agricultural workers residing in developing countries.MethodsReproductive histories were obtained from 217 Ecuadorian mothers participating in a study focusing on occupational pesticide exposure and children's neurobehavioral development. Only women with 2+ pregnancies were included in this study (n = 153). Gravidity, parity and frequency of SAB were compared between women with and without a history of working in the cut-flower industry in the previous 6 years. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the relation between SAB and employment in the flower industry adjusting for maternal age.ResultsIn comparison to women not working in the flower industry, women working in the flower industry were significantly younger (27 versus 32 years) and of lower gravidity (3.3 versus 4.5) and reported more pregnancy losses. A 2.6 (95% CI: 1.03-6.7) fold increase in the odds of pregnancy loss among exposed women was observed after adjusting for age. Odds of reporting an SAB increased with duration of flower employment, increasing to 3.4 (95% CI: 1.3, 8.8) among women working 4 to 6 years in the flower industry compared to women who did not work in the flower industry.ConclusionThis exploratory analysis suggests a potential adverse association between employment in the cut-flower industry and SAB. Study limitations include the absence of a temporal relation between exposure and SAB, no quantification of specific pesticides, and residual confounding such as physical stressors (i.e., standing). Considering that approximately half of the Ecuadorian flower laborers are women, our results emphasize the need for an evaluating the reproductive health effects of employment in the flower industry on reproductive health in this population.

Highlights

Research on the potentially adverse effects of occupational pesticide exposure on risk of spontaneous abortion (SAB) is limited, among female agricultural workers residing in developing countries
Communities A and B were at lower altitudes and likely to have higher environmental and occupational pesticide exposures given their proximity to the cut-flower industry: Community C was at a higher altitude and likely to have lower exposure as residents were less likely to work in the flower industry and lived a great distance from the flower plantations
We found that even though flower workers reported higher wages compared to other workers in the region and Approval for this project was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Michigan as well as from Centro de Estudios y Asesoría en Salud (CEAS) in Ecuador

Summary

Introduction

Research on the potentially adverse effects of occupational pesticide exposure on risk of spontaneous abortion (SAB) is limited, among female agricultural workers residing in developing countries. Because young women of reproductive age comprise an increasing proportion of the paid labor force within global agricultural industries more attention is warranted regarding potential adverse effects of occupational exposure to pesticides on reproductive health of these working women. Even more limited is the available data on the reproductive toxicity of occupational pesticide exposures in agricultural populations residing in developing countries. Restrepo et al assessed reproductive outcomes among women occupationally exposed to pesticides while employed in the Colombian cut-flower industry and found a moderately increased risk of spontaneous abortion among flower workers [4]. Some evidence exists that suggests paternal occupational exposure may influence pregnancy loss, either through genetic or biological (contaminated seminal fluid) mechanisms or via contaminated clothing or equipment [7,8,9,10,11,12]

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