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Resumen: Una serie de estudios evidencian las consecuencias en la salud de las personas expuestas a plaguicidas, ya sea por la actividad laboral como por vivir o estudiar cerca de predios agrícolas. La exposición ocupacional a una serie de insecticidas, herbicidas y fungicidas está asociada principalmente a cáncer, daño neurocognitivo y motor, polineuropatía periférica, depresión y ansiedad, malformaciones en niños al nacer, dificultades endocrinas y en el sistema reproductivo, daño renal y genotóxicos. A través de una revisión de la literatura, el objetivo del siguiente artículo consistió en dilucidar la situación de exposición a plaguicidas en comunidades escolares rurales y aplicar elementos de la bioética y justicia ambiental para proponer un cambio y acciones que permitan mejorar su calidad de vida y salud, por el derecho a vivir libres de contaminación ambiental. La justicia ambiental busca mucho más que la equidad y el tratamiento justo y de calidad similar al de otras comunidades no vulnerables, apunta a hacer que las mismas comunidades exijan la necesidad de una sociedad más igualitaria que vele por el derecho a vivir en un medio ambiente limpio.
Resumo: Uma série de estudos evidenciam as conseqüências na saúde das pessoas expostas a pesticidas, seja por atividade de trabalho como por viver ou estudar perdo de prédiso agrícolas. A exposição ocupacional a uma série de inseticidas, herbicidas e fungicidas está associada principalmente a câncer, dano neurocognitivo e motor, polineuropatia periférica, depressão e ansiedade, mal formações em crianças ao nascer, dificuldade endócrinas e no sistema reprodutivo, dano renal e genotóxicos. Através de uma revisão da literatura, o objetivo do artigo seguinte consistiu em elucidar a situação de exposição a pesticidas em comunidades escolares rurais e aplicar elementos de bioética e justiça ambiental para propor uma mudança e ações que permitam melhorar sua qualidade de vida e saúde, pelo direito a viver livre de contaminação ambiental. A justiça ambiental busca muito mais que a equidade e o tratamento justo e de qualidade similar ao de outras comunidades não vulneráveis, tenta fazer que as mesmas comunidades exijam a necessidade de uma sociedade mais igualitária que vele pelo direito a viver em um meio ambiente limpo.
Abstract: A series of studies show the health consequences of people exposed to pesticides either because of their work activity or because they live or study near agricultural land. Occupational exposure to a series of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides is mainly associated with cancer, neurocognitive and motor damage, peripheral polyneuropathy, depression and anxiety, malformations in children at birth, endocrine and reproductive system difficulties, kidney damage and genotoxic effects. Through a review of the literature, the objective of the following article was to elucidate the situation of exposure to pesticides in rural school communities, unveil the bioethical dilemmas in which they are located and the need to apply elements of environmental justice to generate a change and actions to improve their quality of life and health, for the right to live free of environmental pollution. Environmental justice seeks much more than equity and fair treatment and quality similar to that of other non-vulnerable communities, aims to make the same communities demand the need for a more egalitarian society that ensures the right to live in an environment cleansed.
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Humans , Rural Population , Students , Bioethics , Social Justice , EnvironmentABSTRACT
Introducción: La forma más fácil y económica para observar el crecimiento es la antropometría, Para medir el crecimiento se utilizan estándares de referencia que evalúan a la normalidad del crecimiento. Las curvas de crecimiento recomendadas por la OMS hasta antes del 2006 eran las del NCHS y CDC, a partir de abril del 2006 la OMS propuso el uso del nuevo patrón de crecimiento. Objetivo: Medir la concordancia entre las tablas de referencias de crecimiento de la OMS 2007 y del NCHS/CDC 2000 utilizando los indicadores talla para la edad (T/E) e índice de masa corporal para la edad (IMC/E). Materiales y Métodos: Estudio analítico de corte trasverso. Se estudiaron 148 niños de entre 5 y 16 años que asistieron a escuelas de tres comunidades rurales. Las variables analizadas fueron T/E e IMC/E diferenciada por sexo. Se estimó el coeficiente kappa para evaluar la concordancia entre las referencias. Se utilizó programas estadísticos WHO Antro Plus V.1.0.4, y con EpiInfo v3.5.1 2008. Resultados: La concordancia más alta se encontró entre las referencias de la OMS 2007 y el CDC 2000 con el indicador T/E en la niñas con κ=0,882 y en los niños κ=0,760; con el indicador IMC/E el coeficiente Kappa más alto se encontró en la población de niños (κ=0,733) y en las niñas (κ=0,452). Conclusiones: Se obtuvo una concordancia buena entre ambas tablas de referencias para el indicador T/E. Existen concordancia moderada con el indicador IMC/E entre las referencias de la OMS 2007 y CDC 2000 para el diagnóstico nutricional.
Introduction: The easiest and most economical way to observe growth is anthropometry. To measure growth, reference standards are used that evaluate the normality of growth. The growth curves recommended by the WHO until before 2006 were those of the NCHS and the CDC. As of April 2006, the WHO proposed the use of new growth pattern charts. Objective: To measure the concordance between the 2007 WHO growth reference tables and those of the 2000 NCHS / CDC using the height-for-age (T / E) and body-mass-index-for-age (BMI / E) indicators. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. We studied 148 children between 5 and 16 years of age who attended schools in three rural communities. The variables analyzed were T / E and BMI / E, differentiated by sex. The kappa coefficient was estimated in order to evaluate the concordance between the references. The WHO Antro Plus V.1.0.4 and Epi Info v3.5.1 2008 were used for statistical analysis. Results: The highest concordance was found between the 2007 WHO growth reference tables and the 2000 CDC tables with the T / E indicator in girls with κ = 0.882 and in boys with κ = 0.760; with the IMC / E indicator, the highest Kappa coefficient was found in the population of boys (κ = 0.733) and in girls (κ = 0.452). Conclusions: There is good concordance between both reference tables for the T / E indicator. There is moderate agreement with the IMC / E indicator between the 2007 WHO and 2000 CDC growth references tables for the diagnosis of nutritional status..
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Oral health is fundamental to general health and well being. Schools can provide a supportive environment for promoting oral health. School policies and education on health-related matters are imperative for the attainment of good oral health and control of related risk behaviors. Aim: This study was conducted to assess oral health-related knowledge, attitude, and practices among 12-year-old schoolchildren studying in rural areas of Panchkula, India. The ultimate goal was to implement an oral health-promotion program in this area. Materials and Methods: A total of 440 children (216 males and 224 females) from 12 schools were included in this study. All the participants were requested to complete a 13-question closed-ended questionnaire. The statistical significance of any difference between the two genders was determined using the Chi-square test. Results: Only 25% of the participants said that they cleaned their teeth more than once in a day. Thirty-two percent did not clean their teeth daily. Over the preceding 1 year, 45.5% of the childern had had some problem with their teeth and/or gums, but only 35.9% visited the dentist. Among these children, 8.2% used tobacco in some form. Oral health-related knowledge of girls was significantly better than that of boys. Conclusion: Based upon the findings of the present study, the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the surveyed children with regard to oral health is poor. Hence, there is a need for regular oral health education of the children, as well as their parents and school teachers.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Cariostatic Agents/therapeutic use , Child , Dental Care/psychology , Dental Caries/prevention & control , Dietary Carbohydrates/adverse effects , Female , Fluorides/therapeutic use , Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , India , Male , Oral Health , Periodontal Diseases/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Rural Population , Self Concept , Sex Factors , Nicotiana , Tooth Diseases/psychology , Toothbrushing/psychology , Toothpastes/therapeutic useABSTRACT
OBJETIVO: evaluar la presencia de metabolitos organofosforados en la orina de escolares rurales y estimar la asociación con el desempeño cognitivo. METODOLOGIA: estudio exploratorio de diseño transversal. Se midió en 25 niños el funcionamiento cognitivo con el test de inteligencia WISC-III y concentraciones de metabolitos organofosforados en orina. RESULTADOS: 56% de los niños presentaron concentraciones sobre el límite de detección para el dimetilfosfato (DMP) y el dimetiltiofosfato (dmtp), y 92% presentó el metabolito dietilfosfato (dep) sobre este límite. En el WISC-III,el coeficiente intelectual (ci) bajo el promedio (CI > 90) corresponde a: CI total = 60%; CIejecución = 64%; CIverbal = 52%; CI organización perceptual = 60%; CIvelocidad de procesamiento = 95%; y CI ausencia de distractibilidad = 64%. Se encontró una asociación inversa entre el factor velocidad de procesamiento y el dmtp (rs = -0,44, p = 0,014). CONCLUSIONES: los resultados indican exposición a plaguicidas organofosforados en escolares rurales medidos con biomarcadores de metabolitos organofosforados en orina. Se observó relación entre la presencia de un metabolito organofosforado y un factor de desempeño cognitivo de la prueba WISC-III. Se considera pertinente evaluar los efectos de la presencia de metabolitos organofosforados en el funcionamiento cognitivo en una muestra mayor, considerando otras variables de exposición.
OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the presence of organophosphate metabolites (OP) in the urine of rural schoolchildren and estimate its association with their cognitive performance. METHODOLOGY: a cross-sectional exploratory study in which a total of 25 children were assessed. Cognitive functioning was measured using the WISC-III intelligence test. Additionally, the concentration of OP metabolites in their urine was tested. RESULTS: 56% of the children had concentration levels above the detection limit for dimethylphosphate (DMP) and dimethyltiophosphate (DMTP). Moreover, 92% of them had the metabolite diethylphosphate (DEP) values on this limit. Regarding the WISC-III, the intelligence quotient (IQ) values below the average (IQ > 90) correspond to: Total IQ = 60% performance IQ = 64%, verbal IQ = 52%, perceptual organization IQ = 60%, processing speed IQ = 95%, and freedom from distractibility IQ = 64%. An inverse association was found between the processing speed factor and DMTP (r s = -0.44, p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: results indicate that the rural schoolchildren whose urine was measured with OP metabolite biomarkers had been exposed to OP pesticides. A relationship was observed between the presence of OP metabolites and the cognitive performance factor of the WISC-III test. We believe it is appropriate to evaluate the effects of the presence of OP metabolites on cognitive functioning in a larger sample, while considering other exposure variables.