Article Text
Abstract
Introduction The organophosphates (OPs) are a group of insecticides that have been widely used worldwide for the past 50 years. It is estimated that 3,000,000 people are exposed to OPs yearly, with the associated death rate being 3,00,000 deaths/year. OPs are cholinergic inhibitors and their toxicity is possible through acute or chronic exposure, with severe consequences for different organs and systems. The main objective of this study was to identify signs and symptoms of exposure to OPs on women with chronic exposure.
Methods A prospective study (1994–2014) followed up 43 women exposed to OPs, and evaluated signs and symptoms described as being associated to OPs exposure, as well as analytical parameters associated to asthenia and cellular protection, namely pyruvate (PA) and lactate (LA).
Results During the first appointment, 98% of the women had asthenia. Among the evaluated signs and symptoms, musculoskeletal injuries (78%) and menstrual cycle changes (36%) occurred with the highest frequency. Slightly less frequent were the changes observed in the peripherical nervous system (11%). Regarding the evaluated biochemical parameters, women generally showed a decrease in ferritin and an increase in TSH. Throughout the study a progressive drop in AChE was observed. In 64% and 92% of the women a change in PA and LA values respectively was observed.
Discussion The results suggest that prolonged exposure to OPs can chronically affect different human organism systems, namely parameters related to mitochondrial dysfunction