Pesticide: Endangered Agricultural Workers by Causing Depression And Suicidal Ideation

Abstract

Introduction: The increased usage of pesticides is associated with the increased of neuropsychiatric disorder include depression and suicidal ideation among agricultural workers in different socioeconomic and demographic area. These studies examined symptoms of neurological and psychological distress previously exposed to pesticides that cause suicidal ideation. Methods: The mean number of suicide rate on agricultural workers previously exposed to pesticides obtained from direct method using the existing data and the others were obtained from direct interview and specific questionnaires which conducted on agricultural workers. The multivariate analysis used on these studies consists of multiple linear regression and logistic regression. Result: Among the agricultural workers and the data that were analyzed, it shows that pesticides exposure associated with depression and suicidal ideation. Significant characteristics of increasing symptoms with increasing number of previous exposure to pesticide were seen by the somatisation, obsessivecompulsiveness,

interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety and especially depression. Moreover, the increased probability of suicidal ideation significantly associated with the increased of the episodes of exposure to pesticides. Conclusions: These studies indicate that pesticides exposure can be the cause of depression and suicidal ideation in agricultural workers. When the symptoms of neurological and psychological distress are detected, a monitoring must be available to prevent the suicidal ideation. However, further appropriately designed studies are needed to confirm the causal relationships.