Abstract
We aimed to investigate the relationship between pesticide exposure and cognitive decline in a rural South Korean population. From July 2015 to December 2017, 200 randomly selected Korean Farmers Cohort study participants were recruited and of these, 169 participants were analyzed. Pesticide exposure was investigated using a standardized questionnaire, and the Korean-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (K-MoCA) was conducted. Cognitive decline was more frequent among those directly exposed to pesticides (P = 0.057). Pesticide exposure and cognitive decline were positively correlated in the group with direct exposure versus no exposure (crude odds ratio [OR], 2.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–6.04); this relationship was insignificant after adjustment (adjusted OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.57–3.92). There was a significant difference in the K-MoCA scores for each group based on pesticide exposure (P = 0.003). When we stratified by age, differences in the K-MoCA scores depending on the degree of pesticide exposure in the those aged 60 to 69 years were identified. Overall, there was a tendency towards an association between pesticide exposure and cognitive decline in rural Korean adult farmers. In our study, chronic pesticide exposure tended to have a greater impact in certain age group (60–69 years) than in those under 60 and over 70.
Highlights
Pesticides are one of several toxic substances intentionally released into the environment to kill living organisms
There was no difference in cognitive decline incidence based on sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and alcohol use
Our results showed that there was a tendency for an association between pesticide exposure and cognitive decline; this association was not statistically significant
Summary
Pesticides are one of several toxic substances intentionally released into the environment to kill living organisms. Weeds, insects, fungus and rodents are killed by herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides, respectively. Pesticides are used to prevent diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, caused by insects and to remove weeds from parks and gardens [1]. Pesticide exposure is associated with diseases such as cancer, hormonal. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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