Abstract
Objectives:: Pesticide application has become necessary to increase crop productivity and reduce losses. However, the use of these products can produce toxic effects. Farmers are individuals occupationally exposed to pesticides, thus subject to associated diseases as well as cognitive impairment. However, this relation is not well established in the literature, requiring further investigation. To assess the potential association between farmers pesticide exposure and cognitive impairment, we followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, considering participants, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and study strategies. Materials and Methods:: This study included articles published between 2000 and 2021 on the Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed databases, retrieved by the terms pesticides and cognition and pesticides and memory. Results:: In total, ten studies fit the established criteria and were included in the sample. All had farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides in their sample and only one study dispensed with a control group. Of the neurobehavioral tests, four studies used mini-mental state examination, six neurobehavioral core test batteries (tests recognized in the area), and the remaining, other tests. We observed that 90% of articles found an association between cognitive impairment and pesticide exposure. Overall, five studies measured the activity of cholinesterases in their sample, of which three found significant differences between groups, confirming intoxication in those exposed. Conclusion:: Despite the limited number of trials, we found scientific evidence to support the existence of adverse effects of pesticides on farmers cognition. We recommend that future studies research similar projects, expanding knowledge on the subject.
Copyright
Association for Helping Neurosurgical Sick People. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Derivative-Non Commercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit.
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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License, which permits unrestricted reproduction and distribution, for non-commercial purposes only; and use and reproduction, but not distribution, of adapted material for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.
