[Paracelsus] Fungicides endanger eyes of farmers' wives (fwd)

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Fungicides endanger eyes of farmers' wives

Last Updated: 2005-06-02 16:11:26 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The wives of farmers who are exposed to certain

fungicides appear to be at increased risk of retinal damage, according to newly

reported findings.

" Retinal degeneration is the leading cause of visual impairment in older

adults, " Dr. Jane A. Hoppin, of the National Institute of Environmental

Science, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and colleagues write in the

American Journal of Epidemiology.

They note that " an association between retinal degeneration and fungicide use

was observed previously among farmer pesticide applicators in the Agricultural

Health Study, a large study of farm families from Iowa and North Carolina. "

In the current study, the researchers evaluated the wives of these farmers.

About 1 percent of the wives reported that they had been diagnosed with retinal

or macular degeneration. After adjusting for age and state of residence,

exposure to fungicides was found to almost double the likelihood of retinal

degeneration.

Specific fungicides that increased the odds ratios were maneb or mancozeb and

ziram.

The authors note that cardiovascular disease and diabetes may increase

susceptibility to retinal degeneration in subjects exposed to pesticides if

these conditions weaken structures in the eye.

Indeed, among farmers' wives with cardiovascular disease, the association

between retinal degeneration and fungicides was higher than that among those

without cardiovascular disease.

Also, women with diabetes were many times more likely to have the eye

condition. " If the effect modification by diabetes that we observed is real,

the apparent potentiation of the risk of retinal degeneration from fungicide

exposure in diabetics may result from the added insult of the fungicide to an

already weakened diabetic retina, " the researchers speculate.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, June 1, 2005.

Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited.

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