Dataset Information

Child Labor in Family Tobacco Farms in Southern Brazil: Occupational Exposure and Related Health Problems.

ABSTRACT: Tobacco farming is considered Hazardous Child Labor in Brazil. This study examined the work of children and adolescents in tobacco farming, characterizing the level of urinary cotinine and the occurrence of Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), pesticide poisoning, respiratory symptoms, and musculoskeletal disorders. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a random sample of tobacco growers under 18 years old in Southern Brazil. Ninety-nine young people were interviewed at 79 family farms. The majority began working in agriculture before they were 14 and worked harvesting and tying hands of tobacco; 60% were 16 or 17 years old, and 51.5% were male. During their lifetime, 24.5% reported GTS, and 3% reported pesticide poisoning. In the previous year, 29.3% reported low back pain, 6.1% wheezing, and 16.2% coughing without having a cold. Half of the 12 young people evaluated had over 100 ng/mL of urinary cotinine. The study indicates that child laborers do various activities and present a high prevalence of health problems. Health workers should be trained to identify child laborers and their impacts on health. Full-time farm schools could provide knowledge about sustainable agricultural production, reducing the rates of age-grade mismatch, without taking young people away from rural areas.

SUBMITTER: Fassa AG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8620869 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Child Labor in Family Tobacco Farms in Southern Brazil: Occupational Exposure and Related Health Problems.

Fassa Anaclaudia Gastal AG Faria Neice Muller Xavier NMX Szortyka Ana Laura Sica Cruzeiro ALSC Meucci Rodrigo Dalke RD Fiori Nadia Spada NS Carvalho Maitê Peres de MP

International journal of environmental research and public health 20211122 22

Tobacco farming is considered Hazardous Child Labor in Brazil. This study examined the work of children and adolescents in tobacco farming, characterizing the level of urinary cotinine and the occurrence of Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), pesticide poisoning, respiratory symptoms, and musculoskeletal disorders. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a random sample of tobacco growers under 18 years old in Southern Brazil. Ninety-nine young people were interviewed at 79 family farms ...[more]

PMID: 34832014

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLimited data exist regarding child neurodevelopment in relation to maternal occupational exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).MethodsWe included 1058 mother-child pairs from the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) project (2003-2008). Using a job-exposure matrix, exposure probability scores for ten EDC groups were assigned to each mother based on her longest held job during pregnancy. At the child's 5-year visit, the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities was administered, yielding the general cognitive index and scales for specific cognitive domains. We analyzed region-specific associations between EDC exposures and each outcome separately using adjusted linear regression and combined region-specific effect estimates using random-effects meta-analyses.ResultsApproximately 24% of women were exposed to at least one EDC group, but exposure to most individual EDC groups was low (<5%). Maternal organic solvent exposure was associated with lower quantitative scores among children (-5.8 points, 95% confidence interval: -11.0, -0.5). Though statistically non-significant, exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, alkylphenolic compounds, and miscellaneous chemicals were associated with poorer offspring performance for most or all cognitive domains.ConclusionsThis study found limited evidence for a role of maternal occupational EDC exposures on child cognition. Further research is needed to better characterize exposures among pregnant workers.ImpactUsing data from a prospective birth cohort, we help fill an important research gap regarding the potential consequences of work-related exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) among pregnant women on child neurodevelopment. We expand on existing literature-largely limited to pesticide and organic solvent exposures-by using a job-exposure matrix to estimate exposure to several EDC groups. We found limited evidence of an association between maternal occupational EDC exposure and children's overall cognition. We did observe specific associations between exposure to organic solvents and lower quantitative reasoning scores.

Project description:The developing fetus is especially vulnerable to environmental toxicants, including tobacco constituents. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment within the first two years of life. The study population consisted of 461 non-smoking pregnant women (saliva cotinine level <10 ng/mL). Maternal passive smoking was assessed based on the cotinine level in saliva analyzed by the use of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI + MS/MS) and by questionnaire data. The cotinine cut-off value for passive smoking was established at 1.5 ng/mL (sensitivity 63%, specificity 71%). Psychomotor development was assessed in children at the age of one- and two-years using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Approximately 30% of the women were exposed to ETS during pregnancy. The multivariate linear regression model indicated that ETS exposure in the 1st and the 2nd trimesters of pregnancy were associated with decreasing child language functions at the age of one (β = -3.0, p = 0.03, and β = -4.1, p = 0.008, respectively), and two years (β = -3.8, p = 0.05, and β = -6.3, p = 0.005, respectively). A negative association was found for cotinine level ≥1.5 ng/mL in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and child cognition at the age of 2 (β = -4.6, p = 0.05), as well as cotinine levels ≥1.5 ng/mL in all trimesters of pregnancy and child motor abilities at two years of age (β = -3.9, p = 0.06, β = -5.3, p = 0.02, and β = -4.2, p = 0.05, for the 1st, the 2nd, and the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, respectively; for the 1st trimester the effect was of borderline statistical significance). This study confirmed that ETS exposure during pregnancy can have a negative impact on child psychomotor development within the first two years of life and underscore the importance of public health interventions aiming at reducing this exposure.

Project description:Human toxoplasmosis, a protozoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii, has been described as a worldwide foodborne disease with important public health impact. Despite infection has reportedly varied due to differences in alimentary, cultural and hygienic habits and geographic region, social vulnerability influence on toxoplasmosis distribution remains to be fully established. Accordingly, the present study has aimed to assess T. gondii seroprevalence and factors associated to social vulnerability for infection in households of Ivaiporã, southern Brazil, with 33.6% population making half minimum wage or less, ranked 1,055th in population (31,816 habitants), 1,406th in per capita income (U$ 211.80 per month) and 1,021st in HDI (0.764) out of 5,570 Brazilian cities. Serum samples and epidemiological questionnaires were obtained from citizen volunteers with official City Secretary of Health assistance in 2015 and 2016. In overall, serosurvey has revealed 526/715 (73.57%) positive samples for anti-T. gondii antibodies by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test. Logistic regression has shown a significant increase associated to adults (p = 0.021) and elderly (p = 0.014) people, illiterates (p = 0.025), unemployment (p <0.001) and lack of household water tank (p = 0.039). On the other hand, sex (male or female), living area (urban or rural), yard hygiene, meat ingestion, sand or land contact, owning pets (dog, cat or both) were not significant variables of positivity for anti-T. gondii antibodies in the surveyed population. Although no significant spatial cluster was found, high intensity areas of seropositive individuals were located in the Kernel map where the suburban neighborhoods are located. In conclusion, socioeconomic vulnerability determinants may be associated to Toxoplasma gondii exposure. The increased risk due to illiteracy, adult or elderly age, unemployment and lack of household water tank were confirmed by multivariate analysis and the influence of low family income for seropositivity by the spatial analysis.

Dataset Information

Child Labor in Family Tobacco Farms in Southern Brazil: Occupational Exposure and Related Health Problems.

Publications

Child Labor in Family Tobacco Farms in Southern Brazil: Occupational Exposure and Related Health Problems.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets