Characteristics of reference and pesticide poisoned banana plantation workers
| Characteristic | Reference population, N=130 | Organophosphate poisoned, N=54 | Carbamate poisoned, N=24 |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 29.0 (10.0) | 29.0 (8.2) | 26.5 (6.1) |
| Education (years), mean (SD) | 3.1 (0.8) | 2.8 (0.8)* | 3.0 (0.9) |
| Current alcohol use, % (n) | 55.4 (72) | 59.3 (32)† | 50.0 (12) |
| History of head trauma, % (n) | 23.8 (31) | 38.9 (21)‡ | 37.5 (9)‡ |
| Plasma cholinesterase <median (2.18 IU), % (n) | 48.5 (63) | 59.2 (32) | 37.5 (9) |
| Time of day of examination, % (n) | |||
| Morning | 26.9 (35) | 50.0 (27)§ | 62.5 (15)§ |
| Afternoon | 73.1 (95) | 50.0 (27) | 37.5 (9) |
| Index of long-term exposure to cholinesterase inhibitors, % (n) | |||
| Lowest quartile | 33.1 (43) | 7.4 (4) | 20.8 (5) |
| 2nd Quartile | 24.6 (32) | 20.4 (11) | 33.3 (8) |
| 3rd Quartile | 20.8 (27) | 37.0 (20) | 25.0 (6) |
| Highest quartile | 21.5 (28) | 35.2 (19) | 20.8 (5) |
| Contact with cholinesterase inhibitor during last month, % (n) | 7.7 (10) | 24.1 (13)¶ | 12.5 (3)¶ |
↵* Organophosphate poisoned workers (n=54) tended to have lower education than referents (t test, p=0.06).
↵† Organophosphate poisoned workers tended to report more frequent alcohol use than referents (χ2 test, p=0.08).
↵‡ Both organophosphate and carbamate poisoned workers had experienced head trauma more often than referents (p<0.01).
↵§ Organophosphate and carbamate poisoned workers were examined more frequently in the morning than referents (p<0.001).
↵¶ Organophosphate and carbamate poisoned workers more often reported recent contact with cholinesterase inhibitors than referents (p<0.001).