Prevalence of Current Areca Nut Use and Its Associated Factors among Bhutanese Aged 15-69 Years: Analysis of the Nationally Representative STEPS Survey 2019.

Background: Areca nut (AN) use receives less global attention than tobacco use. Studies have linked AN consumption to a range of adverse health effects, including oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers, periodontal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and addiction. The masticatory use of AN is rampant in Bhutan.

An Evaluation of a Pesticide Training Program to Reduce Pesticide Exposure and Enhance Safety among Female Farmworkers in Nan, Thailand.

Background: Although exposure to chemical pesticides is known to cause negative effects on human health, farmers in Ban Luang, Nan, Thailand, continue to use them regularly to protect crops. This study focused on mothers who were engaged in farm tasks and had children between the ages of 0 to 72 months, with the objective of reducing pesticide exposure.

Methods: This study was conducted from May 2020 to October 2020 in the Ban Fa and Ban Phi sub-districts in Ban Luang due to the high use of pesticides in these areas.

Risk factors, erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase inhibition, and self-reported symptoms of pesticide intoxication among farmers in Thailand: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Organophosphate and carbamate pesticides are widely used, and their adverse health effects remain a serious problem.

Objectives: This investigation aimed to describe risk factors, erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition, and self-reported symptoms and to derive an association between influence factors and erythrocyte AChE inhibition among farmers in Thailand.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 71 farmers from August to October 2022.

Impact of environmental heat exposure on the health status in farmworkers, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Background: Thailand is a tropical developing country which has a serious increase in health risk due to hot weather exposure among outdoor workers.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare the factors related to environmental heat exposure in three different seasons, and to assess the relationship between environmental heat and dehydration status in each season among farmworkers in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Methods: A semi-longitudinal study was carried out in 22 male farmworkers throughout a year of farming.

Pesticide Safety Behavior among Cocoa Farmers in Nigeria: Current Trends and Determinants.

Background: There is a strong link between pesticide exposure risk and farmers' safety behavior. However, there is a lack of understanding of farmers' safety behavior in pesticide use and the psychological factors that influence it, especially in Nigeria.

Objective: This study aimed to identify safety behaviors in pesticide use and their determinants among cocoa farmers in Nigeria using the Health Belief Model (HBM).

Non-carcinogenic health risk from carbamate pesticide exposure of toddlers living in agricultural areas of Thailand.

Toddlers in agricultural areas may be athave risk from pesticide exposure . A cross-sectional study was conducted with 130 toddlers and their caregivers. Face-to-face interviews were done to gather information about exposure factors.

Quantification and characterization of recovered materials in the cycle of the informal household electronic waste dismantling in Buriram province, Thailand: A challenge towards sustainable management and circular economy.

The numerous amount of electronic waste (e-waste) has not been managed effectively resulting informal dismantling sites are being expanded in Thailand. The government attempts to improve the efficiency of an integrated e-waste management system, but baseline data of e-waste stream in informal sectors are insufficient. This research aimed to investigate the inflow and outflow of the materials throughout the informal e-waste dismantling processes at the well-known second-largest community in Buriram province during 2017-2018.

Fine particulate matter and daily hospitalizations for mental and behavioral disorders: A time-series study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Various adverse health outcomes caused by particulate matter (PM) exposure has been documented, while the evidence for the adverse effects of PM exposure on mental and behavioral disorders (MBDs) is limited. To date, few epidemiological studies, especially in developing countries, have focused on these adverse effects. In the past decade, air pollution sources in Vietnam have noticeably increased, resulting to the elevated concentrations of ambient air pollutants particularly fine PM or PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.

Investigation of kidney function changes in sea salt workers during harvest season in Thailand.

Background: Occupational factors have previously been mentioned as contributing to decreased kidney function and the development of chronic kidney disease of unknown cause. Sea salt workers are one of the occupations facing high outdoor temperatures and a highly, intensive workload.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to examine whether the kidney function of sea salt workers at the beginning of the harvest season differs from kidney function at the end of the harvest season and to identify factors that can predict the change of kidney function.

Pesticide toxicity assessment and geographic information system (GIS) application in small-scale rice farming operations, Thailand.

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the impact of pesticide exposure on farmer health during non-active rice farming and active rice farming periods and present the change in the individual cholinesterase activities (%reduction) on the geographic information system (GIS) mapping in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. Acetyl- and butyryl-cholinesterase (AChE and BuChE) activities were monitored during both study periods using Test-mate ChE (Model 400). The location of paddy fields was specified using Garmin geographic positioning system MAP 62s.

Effect of heat exposure on dehydration and kidney function among sea salt workers in Thailand.

Background: Excessive heat exposure and dehydration among agricultural workers have been reported to reduce kidney function and lead to chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu).

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess heat exposure, factors related to dehydration and the relationship between dehydration and biomarkers of kidney function among sea salt workers in Thailand.

Material And Methods: Wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) was used at the time workers started work outdoors on salt farms.

Related health risk assessment of exposure to arsenic and some heavy metals in gold mines in Banmauk Township, Myanmar.

Exposure to heavy metals in mining activities is a health issue among miners. This study was carried out at three small-scale gold mining sites situated in Banmauk Township, Myanmar and aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in the soil through the dermal route. Soil samples were analyzed through atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).

Urinary Concentrations of Dialkylphosphate Metabolites of Organophosphate pesticides in the Study of Asian Women and their Offspring's Development and Environmental Exposures (SAWASDEE).

Background: Measurements of urinary dialkyl phosphate (DAP) metabolites are often used to characterize exposures to organophosphate (OP) insecticides; however, some challenges to using urinary DAP metabolites as an exposure measure exist. OP insecticides have short biological half-lives with measurement in a single urine sample typically only reflecting recent exposure within the last few days. Because of the field staff and participant burden of longitudinal sample collection and the high cost of multiple measurements, typically only one or two urine samples have been used to evaluate OP insecticide exposure during pregnancy, which is unlikely to capture an accurate picture of prenatal exposure.

Pesticide use in Thailand: Current situation, health risks, and gaps in research and policy.

Agriculture in Thailand, which employs over 30 percent of the workforce and contributes significantly to the country's gross domestic product, is a key sector of its economy. Import and use of pesticides has increased over the past decade due to Thailand's major role as a leading exporter of food and agricultural products. The widespread and poorly regulated use of pesticides presents a potential risk to the health of farmers, farm families, the general population including children and the environment.

Human biomarkers associated with low concentrations of arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in groundwater in agricultural areas of Thailand.

Human biomarkers were used to evaluate the lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) exposure of local people who lived in an agricultural area with intense agrochemical usage and who consumed groundwater. Although the heavy metals/metalloids in the groundwater were at low concentrations, they could cause adverse effects due to a high daily water intake rate over the long term. Biomarkers (hair, fingernails and urine) were collected from 100 subjects along with the local shallow groundwater and tap water, which is the treated deep groundwater, and investigated for the concentrations of As and Pb.

Using the Socio-Ecological Model to Frame the Influence of Stakeholders on Cocoa Farmers' Pesticide Safety in Nigeria: Findings from a Qualitative Study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the roles of stakeholders on cocoa farmers' safe pesticide use in Nigeria using the socio-ecological model as the theoretical framework.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional qualitative study where participants were purposefully selected based on some criteria. Then, they were interviewed in-depth using a semi-structured interview approach.

Heavy Metals in the Soils of Placer Small-Scale Gold Mining Sites in Myanmar.

Background: Artisanal and small-scale mining activities are widely practiced globally. Concentrations of heavy metals associated with gold, such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) can increase in the environment as a result of mining activities, leading to environmental pollution and pose toxicity risks to humans and animals.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate soil concentrations of toxic heavy metals in placer small-scale gold mining operations in Myanmar.

Pyrethroid Insecticides in Households from Urban Areas: An Association of the 3-PBA Metabolite and Hand Wipes.

Background: Pyrethroid exposure in the household environment affects children directly via inhalation or dermal exposure. Hand wipes can effectively predict pyrethroid exposure to young children along with the children's activities. The main purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between 3-PBA metabolites, hand wipe sample concentrations and multiple exposure factors, within the population of households with young children in urban Bangkok, Thailand.

Effects of pesticide exposure on reproductivity of male groundnut farmers in Kyauk Kan village, Nyaung-U, Mandalay region, Myanmar.

Introduction: Kyauk Kan village of Nyaung-U, Mandalay region, Myanmar is one of the most famous groundnut-growing zones and has been exposed to pesticides.

Methods: This study design provided evaluation of within-person changes in the season across growing and nongrowing periods. A cross-sectional study was performed to identify health problems related to organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure, to explore the protected use of this pesticide among 400 participants in the community by face-to-face interviews, and to determine the reproductive effects of OP exposure by using biomarkers of 100 male groundnut farmers aged 18-49 years.

Relationship Between Noise-Related Risk Perception, Knowledge, and the Use of Hearing Protection Devices Among Para Rubber Wood Sawmill Workers.

Background: The understanding of the relationship between risk perception, knowledge, and protective behaviors could play a major role in occupational risk control and management. Research exploring how workers perceive, recognize, and react to risks in different occupational settings is scarce in Thailand. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of noise-related risk perceptions and knowledge to the use of hearing protective devices (HPDs) among sawmill workers in Thailand.

Using hair and fingernails in binary logistic regression for bio-monitoring of heavy metals/metalloid in groundwater in intensively agricultural areas, Thailand.

In this study, the hair and fingernails of the local people in an intensively cultivated agricultural area in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, were used as biomarkers of exposure to arsenic (As) and heavy metals. The study area has shallow acidic groundwater that is contaminated with As and heavy metals. The local people often consume this shallow groundwater; thus, they are exposed to As and heavy metals.

Occupational noise exposure and hearing defects among sawmill workers in the south of Thailand.

The aim of this study was to investigate occupational noise exposure and hearing defects among sawmill workers in the south of Thailand. Seven hundred sawmill workers participated, of which 335 (47.9%) were male.

Job safety analysis and hazard identification for work accident prevention in para rubber wood sawmills in southern Thailand.

Objective: We utilized job safety analysis (JSA) and hazard identification for work accident prevention in Para rubber wood sawmills, which aimed to investigate occupational health risk exposures and assess the health hazards at sawmills in the Trang Province, located in southern Thailand.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study which included a walk-through survey, JSA, occupational risk assessment, and environmental samplings from March through September 2015 at four Para rubber wood sawmills.

Results: We identified potential occupational safety and health hazards associated with six main processes, including: 1) logging and cutting, 2) sawing the lumber into sheets, 3) planing and re-arranging, 4) vacuuming and wood preservation, 5) drying and planks re-arranging, and 6) grading, packing, and storing.

Association between blood cholinesterase activity, organophosphate pesticide residues on hands, and health effects among chili farmers in Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeastern Thailand.

Background: Use of pesticides has been documented to lead to several adverse health effects. Farmers are likely to be exposed to pesticides through dermal exposure as a result of mixing, loading, and spraying. Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are widely used in most of the agricultural areas throughout Thailand.