Hematological and biochemical studies on workers occupationally exposed to pesticides

ABSTRACT

Pesticides can cause many problems in exposed individuals. Twenty-tour workers exposed to pesticides have been investigated. They were divided into two groups. The first group is the applicators of pesticides [14 workers] and the second group is the salesmen who sale pesticides in the market [10 workers]. Ten non-exposed individuals were used as control. Hemoglobin content [Hb], hematocrit value [Hct], red blood cells [ABCs], white blood cells counts [WBCs], mean corpuscular volume [MCVI, mean corpuscular hemoglobin [MCH], and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration [MCHC] were measured. Biochemical liver functions Serum aspartate aminotransferases [ASTI, and alanine aminotransferases [ALTI, renal functions creatinine [CR] and uric acid [UAJ, acetyl cholinesterase [AChE] activity, and total protein [TP] were estimated in the occupationally and non-occupationally exposed groups. Significant decrease was observed in the hematological parameters [Hb, RBCs, WBCs], plasma AChE activity, and the total protein. In contrast, significant increase in serum AST activity, creatinine, and uric acid concentrations were recorded in the exposed groups when compared with the non-exposed groups. Also, significant increase in MCV and MCH values of the two exposed groups was found. Salesmen were more affected than the applicator group. These results suggested that Salesmen group were exposed to various pesticides and for a long time during day by different routes of exposure