Risk and hematological effects of pesticides on occupationally exposed workers in Iran's pesticide production industry in 2018

 In developing countries, pesticide poisoning, regardless of occupational exposure or deliberate actions, is one of the major public health problems. To determine the impact of occupational exposure to pesticides on workers' health status, this study evaluated the consequences of pesticide exposure and its effects on hematological indices.

 Eighty workers of pesticide production factories were studied in two experimental and control groups during 2018–2020. Data were collected using demographic, occupational, health questionnaires, and blood analysis. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (ver. 23), Chi-square, and U Mann–Whitney test considering a significance level of 0.05. 

 The age range of subjects was 23–56 years (mean = 36.21 ± 6.744). A significant difference was observed between studied groups in terms of marital status, education level, and work shift. In addition, levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (P = 0.036), white blood cell (WBC) (P = 0.009), uric acid (P = 0.033), and alkaline phosphates (P < 0.001) were significantly different between the two studied groups. The results showed a significant difference between the hematology Index level of toxin production workers and workers in administrative and service units. 

 As expected given the type of their job, a significant difference was observed between studied groups in terms of marital status, education level, and work shift, use of safety equipment, as well as residency. Furthermore, levels of ESR, WBC, uric acid, and alkaline phosphates were significantly different. It seems that pesticide toxins exposure in the poison-production industry causes hematological changes, which may be dangerous in a long time