Source: International Congress 2015 – Occupational and environmental cohort investigations and population studies
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Background: Harvest sugarcane is still predominantly manual and exposes workers to risks to health, such as: pollutants from sugarcane burning, intense physical exertion and heat. Aim: To evaluate the acute and chronic effect of burnt sugarcane harvesting on systemic markers. Methods: 48 male sugarcane workers were evaluated. Blood and urinary markers, and the blood pressure were evaluated, on two periods: (a) Non-Harvesting Period (NHP), four months before start the harvest, and (b) Harvesting Period (NHP), after seven months of the harvest start, in which the measures were taken before the harvest (HP1), and at the end of harvest day (HP2). In harvesting, the Particulate Matter (PM_2.5), temperatures (T) and Relative Air Humidity (RAH) were recorded. Results: Mean workers age was 38.9±11 years. The concentration of PM_2.5 in the Harvesting was 106.4.2±27.3µg/m³. The workers cut an average of 10 tons of sugarcane/day. The mean T and RAH were 29.4°C (16.3-53.4), 54.0% (11.5-83.8). It was observed an increase in systolic (115.2±16.7 to 135.6±21 mmHg) and diastolic pressures (72±12.5 to 82.5±12 mmHg), between NHPvsHP1 (chronic effect) (P<0.001); a decrease in hematocrit – NHvsH1 (chronic effect) and H1vsH2 (acute effect), (P<0.001); an increase in neutrophils and monocytes between NHPvsHP1 and H1vsH2, (P<0.001). It was observed an increase in mean urinary density, red blood cell, epithelial cells and a decrease in PH, in urine, between NHPvsHP1 (chronic effect) (P=0.002, P=0.0012, P=0.001, P=0.011, respectively). Conclusion: Work in burnt sugarcane harvesting was associated with chronic and acute changes in blood and urinary markers, and with an increase on blood pressure.


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Marceli Rocha Leite (Presidente Prudente, Brazil), Marceli Rocha Leite, Dionei Ramos, Iara Buriola Trevisan, Ana Paula Coelho Figueira Freire, Bruna Spolador de Alencar Silva, Guilherme Yassuyuki Tacao, Renata Marques David, Emmanuel Almeida Burdmann, Ubiratan De Paula Santos. Work in burnt sugar cane harvesting: Chronic and acute change on inflammatory markers and blood pressure. Eur Respir J 2015; 46: Suppl. 59, 1177

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