Subject: PANUPS: Farmworkers Health Study

From: Pesticide Action Network North America Reg Ctr <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 93 14:53:01 PST

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PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA UPDATES SERVICE
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U.S. BEGINS LONG-TERM STUDY OF FARM FAMILY HEALTH

March 12, 1993

        Three national agencies are launching a project to
monitor the health of farmers, farmworkers, and their
families, in what will be the largest agriculture-related
health study ever undertaken in the U.S. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Cancer
Institute (NCI), and the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) will collaborate
on this project, which will last ten years, or longer if
funding is available.
        NCI comments that farmers are chronically exposed
to "potentially harmful compounds such as pesticides. . .
chemical solvents, engine exhausts, animal viruses,
sunlight, and other substances common to agriculture."
The new project should provide important data on the
health effects of these exposures over time.
        The project is a prospective epidemiological study
(one in which an identified group, or cohort, is studied
over a specified period of time) that will follow two
cohorts of farm families: one in Iowa, and one in North
Carolina. The project will include up to 100,000 people,
including male and female farmers, farmers' spouses,
agricultural pesticide applicators, and their children.
        Prior studies have shown that U.S. farmers have
higher-than-normal rates of several types of cancer,
including lymphoma and sarcoma, multiple myeloma,
certain leukemias, and cancers of the brain, prostate,
skin, and lip. In some cases, specific agents have been
linked with these cancers -- for example,
epidemiological studies have linked exposure to phenoxy
herbicides, and 2,4-D in particular, with significantly
enhanced rates of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in farmers.
        Until now, few studies of farmer health in the U.S.
have assessed or compared the health status of various
ethnic groups. NIEHS, which is involved primarily in the
assessment of non-cancer health outcomes of farming in
this study, notes that the Iowa cohort is expected to be
overwhelmingly white, but that the North Carolina cohort
is expected to include a substantial number of people of
Native American and African American descent, among
both farmers and farmworkers.
        Past studies of farm health by NCI and other health
monitoring agencies have generally been case-control
studies, in which a selected group of "cases" of those
manifesting a particular condition are compared with
"controls," a selected group of those who do not have the
condition under study. In launching a prospective study
that will examine the cumulative health status of the
farm cohorts over many years, investigators will be able
to study many types of cancer and non-cancer health
events in a consistent population. Another advantage of a
prospective study such as this is that it will gather
information on health events and exposures as they
occur. This eliminates some of the problems associated
with retrospective health surveys that rely heavily on
recall of past events.
        In addition to ongoing medical care and assessment
of medical records, some participants in the study will
be selected for ongoing physiological and/or
neurobehavioral monitoring. This will include blood,
urine, or body tissue testing, as well as
neuropsychological tests of memory, perception, and
motor ability. Neurotoxicity is among the most
significant concerns of the non-cancer portion of this
study, as it has been estimated by EPA and the Office of
Technology Assessment (OTA) that between 25% and 50%
of pesticide active ingredients are known or suspected
human neurotoxins. Reproductive toxicity will also be an
important focus -- NIEHS reports that detailed analysis
will be given to male and female reproductive system
health, to fertility and pregnancy outcomes, and to
developmental assessment of the children of farmers and
applicators.

Sources:  RThree Agencies to Cooperate in Agricultural
Health Study,S National Cancer Institute, January 25,
1993; EPA Press Advisory, January 25, 1993;
RNCI/EPA/NIEHS Agricultural Heath Study,S NIEHS,
undated.

Contacts: Office of Cancer Communication, National
Cancer Institute (NCI), Building 31, Room 10A24, 3000
Rockville Pike, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,
MD 20892 USA; phone (301) 496-4000; National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Building 31,
Room B1-CO2 (same street address as NCI); phone (301)
496-0563

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The Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service
(PANUPS) is a pesticide-related news service from the Pesticide Action
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Francisco, CA 94103. Tel: (415) 541-9140. Fax: (415) 541-9253. Telex:
156283472 PANNA. E-mail address on EcoNet: [email-masked]
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