Efectos genotóxicos en población expuesta a mezclas de plaguicidas en los municipios de Montelíbano (Córdoba), Nechí (Antioquia) y Aranzazu (Caldas), Colombia, 2022
Thesis
In Colombia there are extensive land and subsoil resources used for mining and agricultural activity as part of its economy, using substances to extract a product or protect a crop. This can affect the health of the population, triggering harmful effects on various organic systems and even on their genetic material. Existing research is more likely to study the active principles of individual substances, therefore in the literature there is not much data on the genotoxic effects of mixtures of chemical substances in humans, considering that it is important because its use is common in said activities. Objective: to determine the frequency of genomic instability markers in a population environmentally and occupationally exposed to mixtures of pesticides in Montelíbano (Córdoba), Aranzazu (Caldas) and Nechí (Córdoba). Materials and methods: cross-sectional descriptive study with an analytical component was carried out in a group of 306 people (occupational and environmentally exposed to mixtures of pesticides) from the three municipalities. Socio-demographic data, work history, environmental exposure and eating habits in the study population were collected. Pesticide levels in the blood of all the participants and markers of genomic instability were measured in 83 people from the total of the 3 municipalities. Univariate description of the characteristics was performed using absolute and relative frequencies, measures of central tendency and dispersion, and associations between the variables were sought (U Mann-Whitney test and chi-square test (X2)). Results: There was a study population aged between 19 and 83 years, 78 (25.5%) were female and 228 (74.5%) male, 100 (32.7%) people worked in mining (44% with gold and 56% nickel) and in agricultural activities 81 (26.5%) reporting the use of 45 commercial names of pesticides. An average of 3.75 micronuclei (SD= 3.249) was found for all the participants, for the occupationally exposed population it was 4.51 (SD= 3.130) and for the environmentally exposed population it was 2.65 (SD= 3.142). Conclusion: Significant differences were found regarding the presence of MN in relation to occupational and environmental exposure, being higher in individuals with occupational exposure (p=0.004) and in the levels of pesticides in blood for the insecticide paraoxon ethyl (p= 0.036). The presence of high blood values of Endosulfan is striking, considering its high toxicity, which has led to its prohibition in Colombia.
