Acetylcholinesterase activity and hematological parameters in individuals exposed to pesticides in a Brazilian state: a cross-sectional study

The use of pesticides has become a worldwide concern, and Brazil is one of the countries that releases the most pesticides and is affected by them. These chemical substances, when in contact with the human body, can cause health problems such as nephrotoxicity, neurodegeneration, and even cancer. This study investigates how direct and indirect pesticide exposure interferes with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and hematological parameters. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Sergipe, Brazil, and included 378 participants. The impact of pesticides on AChE and hematological parameters in individuals exposed to these agents was evaluated. Triazine and organochlorine classes in combination generated the lowest AChE. A lower mean for AChE for individuals directly exposed to pesticides (p < 0.05) was observed. Men and younger individuals tended to have lower levels of AChE, as did individuals who declared themselves black or people of Asian descent or did not declare any ethnicity. As for hematological alterations, micronuclei were detected in 12.2% of farmers and 8.7% of families and neighborhoods. We found that AChE values tended to increase with the number of platelets and red blood cells. However, we did not detect any other relationships between AChE and the type of exposure with hematological parameters. These findings contribute to evaluating the impact of pesticide exposure on human health. They allow us to infer that individuals directly exposed to pesticides tend to have lower levels of AChE, demonstrating the need to monitor these clinical parameters in individuals exposed to these agents and seek to identify the profile of this population.