Sugarcane Cutters Research Articles

Association Between Acute Kidney Injury Hospital Visits and Environmental Heat Stress at a Nicaraguan Sugarcane Plantation.

Mesoamerican sugarcane cutters are at a high risk of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin, a disease likely linked to heat-related acute kidney injury (AKI). Studies in general populations have described a positive association between high environmental temperatures and clinically assessed kidney outcomes, but there are no studies in occupational settings. We accessed routine records of clinically diagnosed AKI (AKI-CD) and wet bulb globe temperatures (WBGT) at a large Nicaraguan sugarcane plantation and modeled the relationship between these using negative binomial regression. A rest-shade-hydration intervention was gradually enhanced during the study period, and efforts were made to increase the referral of workers with suspected AKI to healthcare. Each 1°C WBGT was associated with an 18% (95% confidence interval [CI]: [4, 33%]) higher AKI-CD rate on the same day and a 14% (95% CI [-5, 37%]) higher rate over a week. AKI-CD rates and severity, and time between symptoms onset and diagnosis decreased during the study period, that is, with increasing rest-shade-hydration intervention. Symptoms and biochemical signs of systemic inflammation were common among AKI-CD cases. Occupational heat stress, resulting from heavy work in environmental heat, was associated with a higher rate of clinically diagnosed AKI in a population at risk of CKDnt. Promoting rest-shade-hydration may have contributed to reducing AKI rates during the study period. Occupational health and safety personnel have key roles to play in enforcing rest, shade, and hydration practices, referring workers with suspected AKI to healthcare as well as collecting and analyzing the data needed to support workplace heat stress interventions.

Impact of heat and a rest-shade-hydration intervention program on productivity of piece-paid industrial agricultural workers at risk of chronic kidney disease of nontraditional origin.

Assess the impact of environmental heat and a rest-shade-hydration (RSH) intervention against heat stress on productivity of piece-paid Mesoamerican sugarcane cutters. These workers are at a high risk of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt), from the severe heat stress they experience due to heavy work under hot conditions. RSH interventions in these populations improve kidney health outcomes, but their impact on productivity has yet to be examined. We accessed routine productivity data from seed (SC, N = 749) and burned (BCC, N = 535) sugarcane cutters observed over five harvest seasons with increasing RSH intervention at a large Nicaraguan sugarcane mill. Hourly field-site wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) was recorded by mill staff and summarized as a daily mean. Mixed linear regression was used to model daily productivity, adjusting for age (18-29, 30-44, and >45 years), sex, WBGT (<28, 28-29, 29-30, 30-31, and >31 °C) on the same and preceding day, harvest season (2017-18 to 2021-22), month, and acclimatization status (<1, 1-2, and >2 weeks). There was an inverse dose-response relationship between SC productivity and WBGT on the same and preceding days, decreasing by approximately 3%/°C WBGT. Productivity increased during the study period, i.e. coinciding with RSH scale-up, by approximately 19% in SC and 9% in BCC. Agricultural worker productivity was expected lower on hotter days, strengthening the interest in all stakeholders to mitigate increasing global temperatures and their impact. Despite decreasing the total time allocated for work each day, an RSH intervention appears to result in increased productivity and no apparent loss in productivity.

Exposome and Metabolome Analysis of Sugarcane Workers Reveals Predictors of Kidney Injury

IntroductionSugarcane workers are exposed to potentially hazardous agrochemicals including pesticides, heavy metals, and silica. Such occupational exposures present health risks and have been implicated in a high rate of kidney disease seen in these workers. MethodsTo investigate potential biomarkers and mechanisms that could explain chronic kidney disease (CKD) among this worker population, paired urine samples were collected from sugarcane cutters at the beginning and end of a harvest season in Guatemala. Workers were then separated into two groups: those with or without kidney function decline (KFD) across the harvest season. Urine samples from these two groups underwent elemental analysis and untargeted metabolomics. ResultsUrine profiles demonstrated increases in silicon, certain pesticides, and phosphorus levels in all workers while heavy metals remained low. While the KFD group had a reduction in eGFR across the harvest season, kidney injury marker 1 (KIM-1) did not significantly change. Cross-harvest metabolomic analysis found trends of fatty acid accumulation, perturbed amino acid metabolism, presence of pesticides and other known signs of impaired kidney function. ConclusionSilica and certain pesticides were significantly elevated in the urine of sugarcane workers with or without KFD. Future work should determine whether long-term occupational exposure to silica and pesticides across multiple seasons contributes CKD in these workers. Overall, these results confirmed multiple exposures are occurring in sugarcane workers and may provide insight into early warning signs of kidney injury and may help explain the increased incidence of CKD among agricultural workers.

Reproductive health problems faced by the female sugarcane cutters

Reproductive health problems faced by the female sugarcane cutters

Seroprevalence of Hantavirus among Manual Cane Cutters and Epidemiological Aspects of HPS in Central Brazil.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rodent-borne zoonotic disease that is endemic throughout the Americas. Agricultural activities increase exposure to wild rodents, especially for sugarcane cutters. We carried out a survey of the epidemiological aspects of HPS and investigated the prevalence of hantavirus infection in the sugarcane cutter population from different localities in the Brazilian Midwest region. We conducted a retrospective study of all confirmed HPS cases in the state of Goiás reported to the National HPS surveillance system between 2007 and 2017, along with a seroepidemiological study in a population of sugarcane cutters working in Goiás state in 2016, using the anti-hantavirus (Andes) ELISA IgG. A total of 634 serum samples from cane cutters were tested for hantavirus antibodies, with 44 (6.9%) being IgG-reactive according to ELISA. The destination of garbage was the only statistically significant variable (p = 0.03) related to the detection of hantavirus IgG (p < 0.05). We described the epidemiological profile of reported hantavirus cases in Goiás-a highly endemic area for HPS, and where the seroepidemiological study was conducted. Our results increase our knowledge about hantavirus infections in Brazil and highlight the vulnerability of sugarcane cutters to a highly lethal disease that, to date, has no specific treatment or vaccination.

A comprehensive evaluation of heat stress and heat strain in a sample of sugarcane cutters in Brazil.

Sugarcane cutters are vulnerable to extreme heat and are at risk for heat-related illness and chronic kidney disease, potentially due to high heat strain. We performed a comprehensive assessment of the physiological demands of sugarcane cutters via measurements of metabolic, thermal, and cardiovascular responses. In addition, we assessed cross-shift changes in markers of kidney function. Nine male sugarcane cutters were monitored while working during the spring harvest season in Brazil. Core temperature (Tcore) and heart rate (HR) were continuously recorded, and oxygen consumption was measured during the work shift. Urine and blood samples were collected pre- and postwork shifts. Total sweat loss was calculated using body weight changes and adjusting for water ingestion and urine output. A wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) station was used to monitor environmental heat stress. WBGT was ≥30°C on 7 of the 8 study days. Mean and peak Tcore during the work shift were 37.96 ± 0.47°C and 38.60 ± 0.41°C, respectively, with all participants surpassing a Tcore of 38°C. Mean and peak HR during the work shift were 137 ± 14 and 164 ± 11 beats/min, respectively. Percent of maximal oxygen consumption was, on average, 53 ± 11%. Workers had a total sweat loss of 7.63 ± 2.31 L and ingested 6.04 ± 1.95 L of fluid. Kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate) was reduced from pre- to postwork shift (Δ -20 ± 18 mL·min·1.73 m2). We demonstrated that sugarcane cutters performing prolonged work during a period of high environmental heat stress display high levels of heat strain, high water turnover, and reduced kidney function.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We demonstrate that a shift of sugarcane cutting performed outdoors during the spring harvest season results in a high level of heat strain. In fact, all the studied workers sustained core temperatures above 38°C and heart rates above 75% of the measured maximum heart rate. Additionally, workers displayed a high water turnover with sweat loss close to 10% of their body weight. Finally, we report elevated muscle damage and reductions in kidney function following the work shift.

“Our Poverty has No Shame; the Stomach has No Shame, so We Migrate Seasonally”: Women Sugarcane Cutters from Maharashtra, India

During the season of sugarcane cutting, men and women seasonally migrate toward the sugar belt. Drought conditions in their native districts are always highlighted as the reasons for seasonal migration. However, existing literature on sugarcane cutters emphasizes that mostly poor, lower caste, landless, small landholders, and resourceless people migrate to the sugar belt. Even pregnant or lactating mothers are not an exception for seasonal migration and the work of sugarcane cutting. In Maharashtra, issues like poor work conditions, labor rights, financial exploitation, hysterectomy among women, citizenship status, education, and health of sugarcane cutters are already in the discussion forums. After migration, these workers live without housing, sanitation facilities, and drinking water. For women, there is no social, economic, labor, and personal security. Workers have to bathe, defecate openly, and drink untreated water. Specifically, women have special health needs, and there should not be a compromise while accessing essential health services. Considering the background information, this article considers questions like why women migrate in adversity and do women work for the Sugar Belt without facing any hardship? People at large relate the phenomenon of migration to human development or economic development. Similarly, it is possible to study internal migration or seasonal migration. Nevertheless, the analysis argues that seasonal migration of the poor, unskilled, illiterate, lower caste, landless, resourceless, and vulnerable cannot be connected to human development. Instead, we can relate it to survival at large. Significantly, the ignorance of the state towards these workers and their needs can be seen from the perspective of social exclusion.

“When there is no money, that is when I vomit blood”: the domino effect and the unfettered lethal exploitation of Black labor on Dominican sugar plantations

BackgroundIn this article, I utilize the concept of the Plantationocene as an analytical framework to generate a holistic and historical understanding of the present-day struggles of a mostly Haitian migrant workforce on sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic.MethodsInspired by Paul Farmer’s methodology, I combine political economy, history, and ethnography approaches to interpret the experiences of sugarcane cutters across historical and contemporary iterations of colonial, post-colonial, and neo-colonial practices over the course of five centuries.ResultsMy findings elucidate the enduring power of capitalism, implicating corporate and state elites, as the structural scaffolding for acts of racialized violence that condition the life-and-death circumstances of Black laborers on Caribbean plantations to this day. Although today’s sugarcane cutters may suffer differently than their enslaved or wage labor ancestors on the plantation, I argue that an unfettered racialized pattern of lethal exploitation is sustained through the structural violence of neoliberalism that links present conditions with the colonial past.ConclusionsUltimately, this paper contributes understandings of the plantationocene’s enduring effects in the global south by demonstrating how imperialist arrangements of capitalism are not a distant memory from the colonial past but instead are present yet hidden and obscured while relocated and reanimated overseas to countries like the Dominican Republic, where American capitalists still exploit Black bodies for profit and power.

Overjoyed Homegirl

Overjoyed Homegirl

An explorative study of inflammation-related proteins associated with kidney injury in male heat-stressed workers

Chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt) and acute kidney injury (AKI) often affect heat-stressed Mesoamerican manual workers. Inflammation occurs concurrently with AKI in this population, but its role remains unknown. To explore links between inflammation and kidney injury in heat stress, we compared levels of inflammation-related proteins in cutters with and without increasing serum creatinine levels during sugarcane harvest. These sugarcane cutters have previously been identified to be repeatedly exposed to severe heat stress during the five month harvest season.A nested case-control study was conducted among male Nicaraguan sugarcane cutters in a CKDnt hotspot. Cases (n = 30) were defined as having an increase in creatinine of ≥0.3 mg/dL across the five-month harvest. Controls (n = 57) had stable creatinine levels. Ninety-two inflammation-related proteins in serum were measured before and after harvest using Proximity Extension Assays. Mixed linear regression was used to identify differences in protein concentrations between cases and controls before harvest, differential trends during harvest, and association between protein concentrations and the urine kidney injury markers Kidney Injury Molecule (KIM)-1, Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein (MCP)-1 and albumin.One protein, chemokine (C–C motif) ligand 23 (CCL23), was elevated among cases at pre-harvest. Changes in seven inflammation-related proteins (CCL19, CCL23, colony-stimulating factor 1 [CSF1], hepatocyte and fibroblast growth factors [HGF and FGF23], and tumor necrosis factor beta [TNFB] and TNF-related activation-induced cytokine [TRANCE]) were associated with case status and at least two out of three urine kidney injury markers (KIM-1, MCP-1 and albumin). Several of these have been implicated in myofibroblast activation, which likely is an important step in kidney interstitial fibrotic disease such as CKDnt. This study provides an initial exploration of immune system determinants of, and activation during, kidney injury experienced during prolonged heat stress.

Point-of-care biomarkers for prediction of kidney function trajectory among sugarcane cutters: a comparative test accuracy study

ObjectivesHeat-stressed Mesoamerican workers, such as sugarcane cutters, suffer from high rates of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt). We aimed to identify easily available early markers of rapid kidney...

Urinary concentrations of metals before and after volcanic eruption: a natural experiment surrounding the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, 2018.

Volcanic eruptions increase environmental heavy metal concentrations, yet little research has been performed on their extrapulmonary human health effects. We fortuitously collected biological samples in a cohort of Guatemalan sugarcane cutters in the area surrounding Volcán de Fuego before and after the June 2018 eruption. We sought to determine whether stratovolcanic activity was associated with changes in urinary concentrations of heavy metals in a cohort of sugarcane workers. In this exploratory analysis, we found significant increases in urinary arsenic, (β = 1.46, P < 0.0001), cadmium (β = 1.03, P < 0.0001), and lead (β = 0.87, P = 0.003) in participants with residential proximity to Volcán de Fuego as compared to participants farther away, suggesting that volcanic activity could be associated with acute heavy metal exposures. This natural experiment is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind and suggests a need for more research into heavy metal exposure-related health impacts of volcanic eruptions.

Insights on the Practice of Hysterectomy among the Women Sugarcane Cutters in Maharashtra (India)

An issue of hysterectomy among the women sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra, India, was on the board of discussion in the year 2019. Women migrate every year to the sugar belt to harvest the sugarcane. There are different arguments and questions about this evil practice of hysterectomy. The present paper highlights the possible reasons for hysterectomies among women sugarcane cutters by analyzing the experiences of women with hysterectomies. It also illuminates the nature of work, ignorance of sugar factories, and health services towards the unique needs of women sugarcane cutters after their migration. This paper argues that the unfavorable circumstances in sugarcane cutting make women look after hysterectomy as an option to get rid of the pain during menstruation and work without interruption. Therefore, there is an urgent need for sugar factories and public health services to recognize their responsibilities towards this population group to stop the evil practice of removing the uterus.

Large difference but high correlation between creatinine and cystatin C estimated glomerular filtration rate in Mesoamerican sugarcane cutters

ObjectivesTo explore the relationship between creatinine and cystatin C based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in actively working sugarcane cutters.MethodsThis cohort study included 458 sugarcane cutters from Nicaragua and El...

From the Mills to the settlements: the struggles of the sugarcane cutters in the 20th century among invisibilities and reinterpretations

O artigo apresenta as lutas dos trabalhadores rurais boias frias no Brasil, valorizando sua riqueza e protagonismo em momentos históricos em que elas eram invisibilizadas tanto pela ditadura como por visões pré-concebidas de quem seriam os sujeitos das lutas por reforma agrária. O universo empírico da pesquisa é a região de Ribeirão Preto e Araraquara, no estado de São Paulo, representativa das contradições entre uma agricultura produtivista e a proletarização de um amplo contingente de trabalhadores. A partir deste contexto, propõe-se uma metodologia centrada nas especificidades das lutas, não deduzidas das condições objetivas, mas marcada pelas experiências vividas pelos trabalhadores e pela identificação de seus interesses.

La perspectiva de la enfermería brasileña sobre la salud de los cortadores de caña: revisión integrativa

Introduction: In the literature of Collective Health, the labor-health relationship in Brazilian sugarcane plantations has been described as based on superexploration of labor and generating illness. Considering the role of Nursing in health care, from the perspective of integrality, it is convenient to investigate what this area, specifically, has produced on the subject. Objective: To analyze the publications of the Brazilian Nursing regarding the health of sugarcane cutters. Methods: Integrative review carried out through three searches. In Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, the search was for the subject “sugarcane workers”. In the Scientific Electronic Library Online, the research was done with the descriptors “sugarcane workers” and “health”. Later searched in the Nursing Database, with the descriptor “sugarcane”. After applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, 7 articles were analyzed. Conclusion: The publications contribute to the understanding of the profile of the cutters, the workloads to which they are exposed, the wearing process and how they get sick. Although the number of articles is still low, there are important reflections on the health of cutters, especially by the dialogue between Nursing and Occupational Health and Collective Health.

La perspectiva de la enfermería brasileña sobre la salud de los cortadores de caña: revisión integrativa

Introduction: In the literature of Collective Health, the labor-health relationship in Brazilian sugarcane plantations has been described as based on superexploration of labor and generating illness. Considering the role of Nursing in health care, from the perspective of integrality, it is convenient to investigate what this area, specifically, has produced on the subject. Objective: To analyze the publications of the Brazilian Nursing regarding the health of sugarcane cutters. Methods: Integrative review carried out through three searches. In Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, the search was for the subject “sugarcane workers”. In the Scientific Electronic Library Online, the research was done with the descriptors “sugarcane workers” and “health”. Later searched in the Nursing Database, with the descriptor “sugarcane”. After applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, 7 articles were analyzed. Conclusion: The publications contribute to the understanding of the profile of the cutters, the workloads to which they are exposed, the wearing process and how they get sick. Although the number of articles is still low, there are important reflections on the health of cutters, especially by the dialogue between Nursing and Occupational Health and Collective Health.

Body Composition, Anemia, and Kidney Function among Guatemalan Sugarcane Workers

Rates of anemia among agricultural workers, who are also at risk for kidney injury and chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu), are unknown. We evaluated body composition through the sum of three skinfolds among 203 male sugarcane cutters and assessed the relationship of variables related to nutrition, anemia (hemoglobin < 13 g/dL), and elevated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c ≥ 5.7%) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using linear regression. Eleven percent of workers were at the level of essential body fat (2–5%). Anemia was present among 13% of workers, 70% of which were normochromic normocytic, a type of anemia suggesting potential underlying chronic disease. Anemia was more common among those with lower BMI and fat free mass. The prevalence of elevated HbA1c was 21%. A moderate negative correlation was found between hemoglobin and HbA1c (Pearson’s r = −0.32, p < 0.01) which suggests that HbA1c values should be interpreted with caution in populations that have high rates of anemia. Twelve percent of workers had reduced kidney function with an eGFR < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2. On average, the eGFR was 18 mL/min per 1.73 m2 lower [(95% CI:−24, −12), p < 0.01)] for those with anemia than those without, and 8 mL/min per 1.73 m2 lower among those with elevated HbA1c [(95% CI: −13, −2), p < 0.01]. Results will inform future studies examining the role of anemia in the evaluation of CKDu and interventions to improve nutrition for workers in low-resource settings.

When the Big House Freaked Out: The Rise and Fall of Industrial Brazil in a Single Lifetime

When the Big House Freaked Out: The Rise and Fall of Industrial Brazil in a Single Lifetime

Labor Commodification in the Sugarcane Plantations of Alagoas, Northeast Brazil

Since the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018, Brazil's ruling classes - who have always disputed labor regulations and protections with the complicity of state authorities - reorganized themselves around an authoritarian project of power. This project is widely backed by agribusiness and industrialists, given Bolsonaro’s promises to boost market freedoms by reducing social and labor rights. In this article I focus on the case of the sugarcane plantations of Alagoas, Northeast Brazil, where I have been carrying out fieldwork since 2012 to explore a couple of questions around labor precarity and job formalization using oral history interviews, documents, and labor process observations. Between May and August 2019, I returned to the field to undertake exploratory fieldwork about the consequences of the labor reform in terms of the working conditions and rights of the sugarcane cutters.