A systematic review of association between pesticide exposure and respiratory outcomes among farmers and farmworkers

Abstract

© 2020 UPM Press. All rights reserved. This review paper aimed to analyze scientific evidence and provide an overview of the relationship of pesticide exposure with respiratory outcomes among farmers and farmworkers. It also synthesized the association of exposure to specific pesticides and other factors with respiratory outcomes. Articles published in PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases from 1991 to 2018 were reviewed and the scientific evidence was evaluated. Forty-five articles were selected for synthesis. Twenty-nine pesticides revealed an association with respiratory diseases and 49 pesticides with respiratory symptoms. In addition, 14 pesticides had an association with both respiratory diseases and symptoms (seven for herbicides, six for insecticides, and one for fungicide). Although the evidence from these reviewed studies suggested an association between pesticide exposure and respiratory outcomes among farmers and farmworkers, several limitations from the studies were found. Toward a better quality for further research, prospective study, standardized tools for exposure and outcome assessment, appropriate sample size and sampling method, and controlled confounding factors, should be thoroughly considered.