Pneumofunctional profile of agrochemical applicators in northeast of Pará - Brazil

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the pulmonary function of rural workers exposed to pesticides in the northeast of Pará. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, analytical study Developed in the municipality of Bujaru, Para State -Brazil. The volunteers (n = 26) were underwent a general and pneumological evaluation. Weight and height were obtained with Hydromel’s analogue balance; prersion measured with Premium’s sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. Pulmonary function evaluated with MicroQuark Sprinkler - COSMED, based on the recommendations of the I Brazilian Consensus of Spirometry: relaxed, sitting individual with spine up and back support, use of nasal clip and disposable nozzles, performing three maximum sustained expirations to choose the more homogeneous volume-time and volume-volume curves and better CVF values visualized in the PTF Suite software. Wilcoxon’s test was used to evaluate the variations suffered by spirometry and the association between the pneumofunctional profile and the risk factors was analyzed by Student’s t test and Mann-Whitnay test. We adopted p <0.05 for statistical significance and the analysis was performed by BioEstat 5.0 software. Results: There were decreases, below the predicted, of all spirometric variables among workers, highlighting the mean reductions: -1,79 L/sec (p<0,0001) for PEF; -0,67L (p<0,0001) for LVC; -0,31L (p=0,0026) for FVC; -0,28L (p=0,0032) for FEV1; -0,21% (p<0,0001) for FEV1 / FVC. About 11,5% of the individuals had a mild to moderate restrictive disorder and 46.2% showed patterns suggestive of the development of mixed ventilatory disorders. Conclusion: We suggest the predisposition to the development of restrictive and mixed disorders among these workers.