Occupational genotoxicity in agricultural workers exposed to pesticides in western Mexico: a comet assay-based biomonitoring study in Venustiano Carranza, Michoacán.

Occupational exposure to pesticides has been extensively studied in the last decades. Mexico, as an emerging nation, but also as an agricultural and horticultural country, has still scarce data. This is the first study in municipality of Venustiano Carranza, Michoacán, western Mexico, performed to study the DNA damage level in peripheral blood leukocytes of a group of 15 agricultural field workers occupationally exposed to pesticides and 14 non-exposed controls from the same region. Data was collected through structured surveys and analysis using the alkaline version of the comet assay. Results demonstrated exposure usually to a complex of pesticides (insecticides, herbicides and fungicides), to mostly organophosphates, carbamates, organochlorines and pyrethroids, with most of them in categories of extremely hazardous Ia, highly dangerous Ib, moderately hazardous II and slightly hazardous III pesticides. Statistical analyses of comet assay parameters like tail length (TL), tail intensity (TI), tail moment (TM), and Olive tail moment (OTM), revealed no significant differences between the exposed and control groups. Multiple linear regression identified significant associations between genotoxic endpoints (TL, TI, TM and OTM), and variables such as occupational exposure duration, number of pesticides used, and level of protective measures. The study highlights the prevalence of chronic health conditions among agricultural workers, with notable proportions reporting symptoms of pesticide intoxication. The predominant use of organophosphate pesticides underscores potential health risks, despite the observed similarities in genotoxicity between exposed and control groups. These findings underscore the importance of continuous biomonitoring and adherence to protective measures to mitigate occupational health risks associated with pesticide exposure.