Hematological alterations in Egyptian farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides

Abstract

Background: Pesticides are agrochemicals extensively used all over the world for pest control and prevention, Egyptian farmers are occupationally exposed to many types of pesticides, making them at high risk for pesticide toxicity. Several studies have shown acute pesticide poisoning effects, but fewer have dealt with chronic pesticide toxicity, especially studies regarding pesticide's effects on hematological parameters. Objective: We aimed to evaluate hematological parameter changes related to long-term low-level pesticide exposure. Subjects and Methods: The blood samples were collected from 96 Egyptian farmers chronically exposed to mixed pesticides and 54 nonexposed controls. A Complete Blood Picture (CBC) was evaluated to explore the hematological indices alterations. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 25. Results: A significant decrease in hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin in addition to platelet count in the exposed farmers compared to the control, On the other hand, white blood cell count was significantly increased. Conclusion: Chronic occupational pesticide exposure of Egyptian farmers leads to a range of disorders in hematological indices. As an affordable and readily available test, the Complete Blood Picture can help in the chronic monitoring of farmers health status who are regularly exposed to pesticides.