Abstract
Background: Exposure to pesticides via take-home can be an important pathway for farmworkers’ families. Objective: The aim of this review was to summarize and analyze the literature published during the last decade of exposure to pesticides via take-home pathway in farmworkers’ families. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to identify peer-reviewed articles of interest; only articles related to take-home pathway that included some sort of pesticide monitoring were considered for inclusion. Systematic reviews, literature reviews, and meta-analyses were excluded, resulting in a total of 39 articles elected for analysis. The articles were summarized based on the location of the study, population (sample size), pesticide analyzed, and type of sample. Results: The majority of the reviewed studies were conducted in the U.S., but there seems to be an increase in literature on pesticide take-home pathway in developing countries. Most of the articles provided evidence that farmworkers’ families are exposed to pesticides at higher levels than non-farmworkers’ families. The levels may depend on several factors such as seasonality, parental occupation, cohabitation with a farmworker, behavior at work/home, age, and gender. Community-based interventions disrupting the take-home pathway seem to be effective at reducing pesticide exposure. Discussion/Conclusion: The take-home pathway is an important contributor to overall residential exposures, but other pathways such as pesticide drift, indoor-residential applications, and dietary intake need to be considered. A more comprehensive exposure assessment approach is necessary to better understand exposures to pesticides.
Highlights
Worldwide, it is estimated that approximately 6 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year to kill or repel pests, including insects, plant life, and fungi [1]
A majority of the reviewed studies provided significant data on how farmworkers and their families are exposed to pesticides via the take-home pathway
We have found 24 additional articles published in the last decade, from various locations globally, related to pesticide take-home pathway that were not considered in previous reviews
Summary
It is estimated that approximately 6 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year to kill or repel pests, including insects, plant life, and fungi [1]. Multiple epidemiology studies have investigated the relation between exposure to pesticides and a variety of health effects such as cancer, asthma, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes [2]. These include exposures via occupational, para-occupational, residential, environmental, and dietary. Exposure to pesticides via take-home can be an important pathway for farmworkers’ families. Objective: The aim of this review was to summarize and analyze the literature published during the last decade of exposure to pesticides via take-home pathway in farmworkers’. Results: The majority of the reviewed studies were conducted in the U.S, but there seems to be an increase in literature on pesticide take-home pathway in developing countries. Most of the articles provided evidence that farmworkers’ families are exposed to pesticides at higher levels than non-farmworkers’ families
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