Paraquat Exposure of Pregnant Women and Neonates in Agricultural Areas in Thailand

Pajaree Konthonbut, Pornpimol Kongtip, Noppanun Nankongnab, Mathuros Tipayamongkholgul, Witaya Yoosook and Susan Woskie
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Pajaree Konthonbut: Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Pornpimol Kongtip: Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Noppanun Nankongnab: Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Mathuros Tipayamongkholgul: Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Witaya Yoosook: Faculty of Public Health, Mahasarakham University, Khamriang Sub-District, Kantarawichai, Maha Sarakham 44150, Thailand
Susan Woskie: Department of Public Health, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave, Lowell, MA 01854, USA

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: This study aimed to assess paraquat concentrations in the urine of women at 28 weeks of pregnancy, delivery and 2 months postpartum and in the meconium of neonates. In all, 79 pregnant women were recruited from three hospitals located in agricultural areas in Thailand. The subjects were interviewed about personal characteristics, agricultural activities and pesticide use patterns. Paraquat was analyzed in urine and meconium using high performance liquid chromatography equipped with a fluorescence detector. The geometric mean (GSD) of urinary paraquat concentrations at 28 weeks of pregnancy, delivery and 2 months postpartum were 2.04 (4.22), 2.06 (5.04) and 2.42 (5.33) ng/mL, respectively. The urinary paraquat concentrations at 28 weeks of pregnancy, delivery and 2 months postpartum between agriculturist and non-agriculturist were not significantly different ( p = 0.632, p = 0.915, p = 0.57 respectively). The geometric mean (GSD) of paraquat concentration in the meconium was 33.31 (4.59) ng/g. The factors predicting paraquat exposures among pregnant women and neonates included working outside, living near farmland, having family members who work on a farm, drinking well water and using herbicides or paraquat.

Keywords: agriculture; paraquat; pregnant women; meconium; Thailand; herbicide; prenatal exposure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:6:p:1163-:d:150395

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