The Association between Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate among Farmers in Sumberejo Village, Magelang, Central Java

Abstract

Background: The major occupation of Sumberejo villagers is a vegetable farmer. A lot of farmers use organophosphate pesticide spray. Improper use of spraying pesticide may cause harmful health impact in human. Organo­­phosphate pesticide is poison­ous and it affects the blood profile of far­mers. This study aimed to examine the asso­ciation bet­ween organo­phosphate pesticide exposure and erythrocyte sedimenta­tion rate (ESR) among far­mers in Sumbe­rejo Village, Magelang, Central Java. Subjects and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Sumberejo Village, Magelang, Central Java, on April 2017. A total sample of 43 farmers was selected from a population of 110 farmers for this study by purposive sampling. The dependent varia­ble was ESR. The independent variables were frequency of spraying (exposure/week), number of pes­ticide, dose of pesticide, length of work (exposure/day), work pe­riod (years of exposure), the use of personal protection equipment (PPE), and level of cho­line­s­te­rase. The ESR data were collected by laboratory test. The other data were col­lected by questionnaire. The bivariate analysis used the chi-square test. Results: Frequency of spraying, number of pesticides, length of work, work period, the use of PPE, and level of choli­nes­­terase, were associated with ESR, but they were not statistically significant (p>0.050). The association between dose of pesticide and ESR was statistically significant (p= 0.048). Conclusion: Dose of pesticide is associated with ESR. However, PPE usage, length of work, work period, number of pesticides, frequency of spraying, and level of choli­nes­te­rase, do not show statistically significant association with ESR in this study. Keywords: exposure, organophosphate pesticide, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, farmer, level of choli­nes­te­rase