Citation

Lopes-Ferreira M, Maleski ALA, Balan-Lima L, Bernardo JTG, Hipolito LM, Seni-Silva AC, Batista-Filho J, Falcao MAP, Lima C. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(6): e3198.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19063198

PMID

35328887

Abstract

Every year, Brazil intensifies its activity in agriculture and, as a result, it has become one of the biggest consumers of pesticides in the world. The high rate of these substances raises environmental and human health concerns. Therefore, we collected papers from PubMed, Scopus, Scielo, and Web of Science databases, from 2015 to 2021. After a blind selection using the software Rayyan QCRI by two authors, 51 studies were included. Researchers from the South and the Southeast Brazilian regions contributed to most publications, from areas that concentrate agricultural commodity complexes. Among the pesticides described in the studies, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides were the most frequent. The articles reported multiple toxic effects, particularly in rural workers. The results obtained can be used to direct policies to reduce the use of pesticides, and to protect the health of the population.

Language: en

Keywords

human health; pesticides; Brazilian scenario; industrial agriculture; rural workers; toxic effects