Is pesticide exposure a cause of obstructive airways disease?

A systematic review was performed to identify any associations between pesticide exposure and the occurrence (both prevalence and incidence) of airways disease (asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and wheezing symptoms. PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar and the Co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European respiratory review 2014-06, Vol.23 (132), p.180-192
Main Authors: Doust, Emma, Ayres, Jon G, Devereux, Graham, Dick, Finlay, Crawford, Joanne O, Cowie, Hilary, Dixon, Ken
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asthma - chemically induced
Asthma - diagnosis
Asthma - epidemiology
Asthma - physiopathology
Humans
Incidence
Lung - drug effects
Lung - physiopathology
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Pesticides - adverse effects
Prevalence
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - chemically induced
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnosis
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - physiopathology
Respiratory Sounds - etiology
Respiratory Sounds - physiopathology
Review
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
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Summary:A systematic review was performed to identify any associations between pesticide exposure and the occurrence (both prevalence and incidence) of airways disease (asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and wheezing symptoms. PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched between September 2010 and October 2010 for papers with the inclusion criteria of English language, published after 1990, peer-reviewed and nondietary exposure. From a total of 4390 papers identified, 42 were included after initial assessment of content. After evaluating the included studies for quality, those considered to be at high risk of bias were excluded, leaving a total of 23 relevant papers. Results suggest that exposure to pesticides may be associated with prevalent asthma, but methodological issues, such as cross-sectional/case-control design, measurements of exposure and limited adjustment for confounders, limit the strength of the evidence base in this area. The association between pesticide exposure and asthma appears to be more evident and consistent in children than in adults. Exposure to pesticides may be associated with COPD; however, the strength of evidence for an association with COPD is weaker than for asthma. As the exposure metrics within each health end-point varied across studies, no meta-analyses were carried out.
ISSN:0905-9180
1600-0617
DOI:10.1183/09059180.00005113