Abstract

Market gardeners use pesticides that could contain disruptors affecting pancreatic function. The objective was to explore exocrine and endocrine pancreatic functions in market gardeners exposed to pesticides. This prospective study was conducted on a cohort of 50 market garden producer participants. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, as well as information on pesticides used, were collected alongside blood samples. Quantitative determination of total insulinemia in serum was conducted using a chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay. Lipasemia, pancreatic amylasemia, triglyceridemia, and glycemia were measured through colorimetric or enzymatic methods. Reference intervals for glycemia (4.11-6.50 mmol/L), lipasemia (13-60 U/L), pancreatic amylasemia (13-53 U/L), triglyceridemia (<1.70 mmol/L), and insulinemia (2.60-24.90 µU/L) were considered. Fisher's exact test was employed to examine the significance of associations, with a p-value set at 0.05. The market garden producers included in the study were males with a median age of 38 years. They were most frequently exposed to active substances such as glyphosate (89.47%), paraquat chloride (36.84%), and 2,4-D dimethylamine salt (15.79%). Hyperinsulinemia (21.05%), hypoglycemia (44.00%), and hypertriglyceridemia (10.53%) were noted. An increase in catalytic activity of pancreatic enzymes was observed, including hyperlipasemia (2.63%) and hyperamylasemia (13.16%). Through insulinemia, a disorder in the endocrine secretion of the pancreas was noted, which may not be solely attributed to the pesticides used. Further comparative studies are needed.

Key words: Pancreas, market gardeners, pesticides.