Health Effects Of Exposures In Agriculture

农业接触对健康的影响

• 批准号: 7327758
• 负责人: Dale P Sandler
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 至
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7327758
• 关键词: Health; Effects; Exposures; Agriculture

The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is a long-term prospective study of potential health effects associated with exposure to pesticides and other agricultural exposures. The study is a collaboration of the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Farmers and their spouses and children are exposed to numerous potential hazards - many of which, such as pesticides, are relevant to the population at large. Farmers have been shown to be at increased risk for some cancers. Experimental and human studies of acute or high-dose exposures suggest that farmers may also be at increased risk of other adverse health effects. We are examining cancer incidence and other health endpoints in a prospective study of licensed pesticide applicators, spouses and children from North Carolina (NC) and Iowa (IA). Over a 3-year period, we enrolled more than 57,000 licensed applicators, representing 82% of eligible private pesticide applicators (largely farmers) in IA and NC and 43% of commercial applicators from Iowa. About 40% of the private applicators also completed a more detailed take-home questionnaire covering farming practices and health. Nearly 32,000 spouses of farmer applicators enrolled and 2/3 of these also provided data on reproductive health, including information on all children under age 21. Cancer incidence among the applicators, spouses, and children is determined through linkage with the population-based cancer registries in IA and NC. Follow-up computer-assisted telephone interviews are used to update exposure information and to collect information on changes in health status since enrollment in the study. Buccal-cell samples are being collected from participants in order to extract DNA for future analyses of gene and environment interactions. In addition, a dietary assessment (food frequency questionnaire) is self-completed and returned by mail. In-depth assessment of agricultural exposures is being made for a small sample of farmers and their families in order to validate the questionnaires and facilitate exposure classification. Both environmental and biological samples are being collected. Non-cancer outcomes of particular interest in this follow-up period include Parkinson's Disease, neurological symptoms related to pesticide use, autoimmune diseases, gestational diagetes, and premature ovarian failure in addition to cancer. Recent results from the Agricultural Health Study include: 1) Long-term exposure to pesticides is associated with increased reporting of neurological symptoms typically seen following acute exposures; 2) Increased risk for accident mortality among farm children; 3) Decreased fertility associated with parental use of solvents and obesity in men; 4) A consistent and strong association between organophosphate pesticides as well as the herbicide chlorimuron-ethyl and wheeze among commercial pesticide applicators; 5) A link between pesticide use and self-reported Parkinson's disease; 6) The absence of an association between pesticides and farm factors and risk for rheumatoid arthritis; 7) A link between specific hormonally active pesticides and late age at menopause; and 8) A link between personal use of agricultural pesticides in early pregnancy and risk for gestational diabetes among spouses of pesticide applicators. We continue to analyze cross-sesctional data on farm exposures and specific respiratory diseases, including farmers lung and chronic bronchitis. Other work focuses on preeclampsia and use of pesticides during pregnancy as well as other adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. We are collaborating with investigators from the University of Iowa on a study of neurobehavioral function in a subset of the cohort. A pilot study of the feasibility of using hormonal assays to assess puberty onset and to study the potential link between pesticides and puberty onset is being carried out. Phase III follow-up telephone interviews are being conducted. Respiratory disease incidence will be a major focus of our efforts in the next few years.

农业健康研究（AHS）是对与农药和其他农业暴露有关的潜在健康影响的长期前瞻性研究。该研究是国家癌症研究所，美国国家环境健康科学研究所和美国环境保护署的合作。农民及其配偶和子女面临许多潜在危害 - 其中许多（例如农药）与整个人口有关。已经证明农民对某些癌症的风险增加。急性或高剂量暴露的实验和人类研究表明，农民也可能面临其他不良健康影响的风险。在一项对北卡罗来纳州（NC）和爱荷华州（IA）的许可农药施用者，配偶和子女的前瞻性研究中，我们正在研究癌症的发病率和其他健康终点。在3年的时间里，我们招收了57,000多名许可的申请者，占IA和NC的合格私人农药申请者（主要是农民）的82％，以及来自爱荷华州的43％的商业申请者。约有40％的私人申请者还完成了一份更详细的带户调查表，涵盖了农业实践和健康。招收近32,000名农民申请者的配偶也提供了有关生殖健康的数据，包括有关21岁以下所有儿童的信息。 施加者，配偶和儿童之间的癌症发病率是通过与IA和NC中的基于人群的癌症注册表的联系来确定的。后续计算机辅助电话采访用于更新曝光信息，并收集自研究入学以来健康状况变化的信息。正在从参与者那里收集颊细胞样品，以提取DNA以将来对基因和环境相互作用进行分析。此外，饮食评估（食品频率问卷）是自我完成的，并通过邮件返回。为了验证问卷并促进暴露分类，对农业暴露的深入评估正在对农业及其家人进行一小部分样本进行。正在收集环境和生物样品。在此随访期间特别感兴趣的非癌症结果包括帕金森氏病，与农药使用有关的神经系统症状，自身免疫性疾病，妊娠腹泻和癌症之外的卵巢过早衰竭。 农业健康研究的最新结果包括：1）长期暴露于农药与急性暴露后通常看到的神经系统症状的报告有关； 2）农场儿童发生事故死亡的风险增加； 3）与父母使用溶剂和男性肥胖有关的生育能力降低； 4）在商业农药施用剂中，有机磷酸盐农药以及除草剂氯铵 - 乙基与喘息的持续关联； 5）农药使用与自我报告的帕金森氏病之间的联系； 6）农药与农场因素之间没有关联以及类风湿关节炎的风险； 7）特定的荷尔蒙活性农药与更年期的晚年之间的联系； 8）在怀孕早期对农业农药的个人使用与农药施用者配偶之间的妊娠糖尿病风险之间的联系。 我们继续分析有关农场暴露和特定呼吸系统疾病的跨转录数据，包括农民肺和慢性支气管炎。其他工作着重于先兆子痫和怀孕期间的农药以及其他不良怀孕和出生结果。我们正在与爱荷华大学的调查人员合作，研究了一部分队组中神经行为功能的研究。一项针对使用荷尔蒙测定法评估青春期发作并研究农药与青春期发作之间的潜在联系的可行性的试点研究。第三阶段的后续电话采访正在进行。在未来几年中，呼吸道疾病的发病率将是我们努力的主要重点。