Kim Sunwook1, Maury A Nussbaum, Sara A Quandt, Paul J Laurienti, Thomas A Arcury. 1. Industrial and Systems Engineering, (Dr Sunwook, Dr Nussbaum) Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention (Dr Quandt), Center for Worker Health; Department of Radiology (Dr Laurienti); Department of Family and Community Medicine (Dr Arcury), Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess potential chronic effects of pesticide exposure on postural control, by examining postural balance of farmworkers and non-farmworkers diverse self-reported lifetime exposures. METHODS: Balance was assessed during quiet upright stance under four experimental conditions (2 visual × 2 cognitive difficulty). RESULTS: Significant differences in baseline balance performance (eyes open without cognitive task) between occupational groups were apparent in postural sway complexity. When adding a cognitive task to the eyes open condition, the influence of lifetime exposure on complexity ratios appeared different between occupational groups. Removing visual information revealed a negative association of lifetime exposure with complexity ratios. CONCLUSIONS: Farmworkers and non-farmworkers may use different postural control strategies even when controlling for the level of lifetime pesticide exposure. Long-term exposure can affect somatosensory/vestibular sensory systems and the central processing of sensory information for postural control.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess potential chronic effects of pesticide exposure on postural control, by examining postural balance of farmworkers and non-farmworkers diverse self-reported lifetime exposures. METHODS: Balance was assessed during quiet upright stance under four experimental conditions (2 visual × 2 cognitive difficulty). RESULTS: Significant differences in baseline balance performance (eyes open without cognitive task) between occupational groups were apparent in postural sway complexity. When adding a cognitive task to the eyes open condition, the influence of lifetime exposure on complexity ratios appeared different between occupational groups. Removing visual information revealed a negative association of lifetime exposure with complexity ratios. CONCLUSIONS: Farmworkers and non-farmworkers may use different postural control strategies even when controlling for the level of lifetime pesticide exposure. Long-term exposure can affect somatosensory/vestibular sensory systems and the central processing of sensory information for postural control.
Authors: Sunwook Kim; Maury A Nussbaum; Paul J Laurienti; Haiying Chen; Sara A Quandt; Dana Boyd Barr; Thomas A Arcury Journal: J Occup Environ Med Date: 2018-02 Impact factor: 2.162