RESUMO
Exposure to toxic substances, including pesticides, can cause irreversible damage to humans, including death, and is therefore considered a serious public health problem worldwide. This is a retrospective study using data gathered by the Toxicological Information and Assistance Center of Brazil's Federal District (Ciat-DF) between 2004 and 2007. During this period, 709 intoxications with pesticide occurred in the DF and were analyzed in this study. Fifty-one percent of the intoxicated individuals were men; the events occurred mostly in the home (91%), in the urban area (86.3%) and by ingestion (84%). Children from 1 to 4 years of age and adults from 20 to 39 years were involved in 30% and 36% of the cases, respectively. Accidental intoxication corresponded to 47.1% of the cases, followed by attempted suicide (44.2%). The illegal rodenticide known as "chumbinho", the main ingredient of which is carbamate insecticide aldicarb, was involved in 35.1% of the cases, mostly in suicide attempts. In eighteen cases, the intoxicated individuals died after exposure to the pesticides, namely 15 suicides and 3 accidental poisonings. When compared with other data sources, this study identified a high level of underreporting to the Ciat-DF of intoxication by pesticide during the period under study.
Assuntos
Praguicidas/envenenamento , Adolescente , Adulto , Brasil , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Centros de Controle de Intoxicações , Intoxicação/epidemiologia , Estudos Retrospectivos , Tentativa de Suicídio/estatística & dados numéricos , Fatores de Tempo , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Exposure to toxic substances, including pesticides, can cause irreversible damage to humans, including death, and is therefore considered a serious public health problem worldwide. This is a retrospective study using data gathered by the Toxicological Information and Assistance Center of Brazil's Federal District (Ciat-DF) between 2004 and 2007. During this period, 709 intoxications with pesticide occurred in the DF and were analyzed in this study. Fifty-one percent of the intoxicated individuals were men; the events occurred mostly in the home (91 percent), in the urban area (86.3 percent) and by ingestion (84 percent). Children from 1 to 4 years of age and adults from 20 to 39 years were involved in 30 percent and 36 percent of the cases, respectively. Accidental intoxication corresponded to 47.1 percent of the cases, followed by attempted suicide (44.2 percent). The illegal rodenticide known as "chumbinho", the main ingredient of which is carbamate insecticide aldicarb, was involved in 35.1 percent of the cases, mostly in suicide attempts. In eighteen cases, the intoxicated individuals died after exposure to the pesticides, namely 15 suicides and 3 accidental poisonings. When compared with other data sources, this study identified a high level of underreporting to the Ciat-DF of intoxication by pesticide during the period under study.
A exposição humana a substâncias tóxicas, incluindo agrotóxicos, pode levar a danos irreversíveis no organismo e até ao óbito, sendo considera um grave problema de saúde pública. Este é um estudo retrospectivo, que utilizou dados reportados ao Centro de Informação e Assistência Toxicológica do Distrito Federal, Brasil (Ciat-DF) referentes a intoxicações por agrotóxicos ocorridas no DF de 2004 a 2007. Nesse período, 709 intoxicações foram notificadas e avaliadas neste estudo. A maioria dos indivíduos envolvidos nas intoxicações foi do sexo masculino (51,2 por cento), intoxicados no domicílio (91 por cento), em área urbana (86,3 por cento) e por via oral (84 por cento). Crianças de 1 a 4 anos e adultos de 20 a 39 anos estiveram envolvidos em 30 e 36 por cento das intoxicações, respectivamente. As intoxicações acidentais corresponderam a 47,1 por cento dos casos, seguidas pelas tentativas de suicídio (44,2 por cento). O raticida ilegal chumbinho, conhecido por conter, principalmente, o inseticida carbamato aldicarbe, esteve envolvido em 35,1 por cento dos casos, principalmente em tentativas de suicídio. Dezoito das intoxicações registradas evoluíram a óbito, 15 por suicídio e 3 por acidente individual. Quando comparado com outras fontes de dados, este estudo detectou uma alta taxa de subnotificação das intoxicações por agrotóxicos reportadas ao Ciat-DF no período do estudo.
