Avaliação do impacto do uso de agrotóxicos na saúde mental de trabalhadores de comunidades agrícolas do município de Lagarto - SE

Abstract

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of common mental disorders in workers from agricultural communities exposed to pesticides. This is a cross sectional, descriptive and analytical study, with rural workers who used pesticides in farming and lived in the municipality of Lagarto-SE. The data were collected between the months of May and September 2021, through technical visits in the rural union of the municipality. A questionnaire was used for data collection, the following variable were identified: identification data, sociodemographic, clinical, health care, physical and emotional symptoms associated with the use of pesticides and information about the practice of pesticide use. In addition, the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SQR-20), a multidimensional scale, was used for the diagnostic suspicion of common mental disorders. All phases of this research were conducted in accordance with the ethical-legal issues of resolution n. 466/12 of the National Health Council and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Sergipe (CAAE 15412119.4.0000.5546). Data were organized in Microsoft Excel and analysis was done in the Graph Pad Prism software, version 6.0. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was applied to verify the consistency and reliability of the instrument, and Fisher's exact test to verify the existence of an association between the variables studied. Statistically significant differences were considered when p < 0.05. The sample was composed of 95 individuals, 59% male and 41% female. Most individuals, 53%, was between 40 and 59 years old. The low level of education of the research participants is noteworthy, since 43% of them reported having incomplete elementary school education. 74 (78%) volunteers reported that they have been working in agriculture for more than 20 years. The analysis of the SQR-20 data showed that almost half of the research participants ,45 (47%), presented mental distress. It was found that there is a significant relationship (p<0.05) between time in agriculture and exposure with common mental disorders. Our results suggest that the indiscriminate use of pesticides may be associated with the occurrence of common mental disorders, demonstrating the relevance of investigating the impact of pesticide exposure on the health of these individuals.