Open AccessAssessment of serum cholinesterase in rural Punjabi sprayers exposed to a mixture of pesticides
Author(s) -
Amar Santosh Dhalla,
Sunil Sharma
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
toxicology international/indian journal of toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.129
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 0976-5131
pISSN - 0971-6580
DOI - 10.4103/0971-6580.117258
Subject(s) - cholinesterase , toxicology , pesticide , organochlorine pesticide , body mass index , population , medicine , environmental health , biology , agronomy
Serum cholinesterase (SChE) activity is considered as a biomarker and is also taken as an exposure index to assess the low level, chronic residue exposures among sprayers. Thus, cholinesterase activity was studied in the professional rural Punjabi sprayers of Bathinda district in Punjab. This study was made to estimate the irregularities in the level of cholinesterase according to multiple pesticides used by sprayers, exposure periods, age, and body mass index (BMI) of the sprayers. The data generated was statistically analyzed by applying Student's 't' test and one-way analysis of variance. A positive correlation was found between SChE activity and years of exposure and a significant reduction in SChE activity was observed in younger population. Again, a positive correlation was seen between BMI and SChE inhibition.