(Reuters Health) – On-the-job exposure to high levels of pesticides might raise the risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke, according to a long-term study in Hawaii.
Farm and agricultural workers need to wear personal protective equipment and, even after they retire should continue to have their health monitored for cardiovascular complications, the authors conclude in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“Pesticides have a long half-life and exist in the body for a long time, so side effects may appear even 10-20 years later,” said lead author Zara Berg of Fort Peck Community College in Peck, Montana.
“Many workers may not think that exposure during their younger or middle years is crucial, but it actually is,” said Berg, who worked on the study as part of her doctoral research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu.
Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cardiovascular-pesticides/occupational-pesticide-exposure-may-raise-heart-risk-idUSKBN1WF1X7