EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Pesticide Use and Serum Acetylcholinesterase Levels among Flower Farm Workers in Ethiopia—A Cross-Sectional Study

Meaza Gezu Shentema, Abera Kumie, Magne Bråtveit, Wakgari Deressa, Aiwerasia Vera Ngowi and Bente E. Moen
Additional contact information
Meaza Gezu Shentema: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 9086, Ethiopia
Abera Kumie: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 9086, Ethiopia
Magne Bråtveit: Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway
Wakgari Deressa: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 9086, Ethiopia
Aiwerasia Vera Ngowi: School of Public Health and Social Sciences, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dares Salaam 65015, Tanzania
Bente E. Moen: Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: The flower industry in East Africa has grown in recent years, especially in the production and export of roses. The aim of this study was to assess pesticide use on selected flower farms in Ethiopia. Serum cholinesterase levels in workers were used as a marker of pesticide exposure. This study was a cross-sectional study involving 588 workers from 15 different flower farms. It had a response rate of 95.5%. The participants included 277 males (mean age 26 years; 148 pesticide sprayers and 129 non-sprayers) and 311 females (mean age 25 years; 156 working in greenhouses and 155 working outside the greenhouses). The researchers undertook structured interviews, blood sampling, and walkthrough surveys. Descriptive statistics and Poisson regression were used in the statistical analyses. A total of 154 different trade names of pesticides were found. Of them, 31 (27%) were classified as moderately hazardous by the WHO, and 9% were organophosphates. Serum levels of cholinesterase deviating from 50–140 Michel units were considered abnormal. Abnormal serum cholinesterase levels (above 140 Michel units) were found in 97 participants (16.5%, 95% confidence interval 13.7–19.7%). There were no differences between the four job groups regarding cholinesterase levels. The high prevalence of abnormal serum cholinesterase levels might indicate the presence of pesticide intoxication. Thus, there is a need for routine monitoring of all workers exposed to pesticides, not only sprayers.

Keywords: cholinesterase level; Ethiopia; flower farm workers; pesticides; WHO hazard classification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/964/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/964/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:964-:d:316373

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:964-:d:316373