Articles about Eye Health and Disease from 2005


Fungicide Exposure Linked to Retinal Degeneration


(From Am J Epidemiol 2005;161:1020-1029)


Individuals exposed to some fungicides and other pesticides appear to be at increased risk of retinal degeneration, according to findings published in the June 1st issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"Retinal degeneration is the leading cause of visual impairment in older adults," Dr. Jane A. Hoppin, of the National Institute of Environmental Science, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and colleagues write. "An association between retinal degeneration and fungicide use was observed previously among farmer pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study, a large study of farm families from Iowa and North Carolina."

In the current study, the researchers extended these findings by evaluating the wives of these farmers. Self-reported cross-sectional data were collected from questionnaires between 1993 and 1997 from 31,173 wives. Regression analyses were used to assess the association of specific pesticides and groups of pesticides based on function or chemical structure with eye disorders.

About 1% (281 wives) reported a diagnosis of retinal or macular degeneration. An association was observed between self-reported retinal degeneration and fungicide use (odds ratio = 1.9) after adjusting for age and state of residence. Specific fungicides that increased the odds ratios were maneb or mancozeb and ziram. No association was found between pesticide use and other eye disorders.

The authors note that cardiovascular disease and diabetes may increase susceptibility to retinal degeneration in subjects exposed to pesticides if these conditions weaken structures in the eye. Among wives with cardiovascular disease, the association between retinal degeneration and fungicides was higher than that among those without cardiovascular disease. Among wives with diabetes, the odds ratio was14.8, compared with only 1.6 among non-diabetics.

"If the effect modification by diabetes that we observed is real, the apparent potentiation of the risk of retinal degeneration from fungicide exposure in diabetics may result from the added insult of the fungicide to an already weakened diabetic retina," the researchers speculate.




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