Neurological Evaluation of Newborn Infants of Mothers Working in Citrus Groves in Northern Thailand

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to assess neurological function in newborn infants born to mothers working in citrus orchards in Northern Thailand for a period in excess of one year where pesticide applications average 35 times a year. Forty-one infants from uncomplicated term births at the community hospital in Fang, Thailand, were given neurological evaluations during the first four days of life. This was a cross-sectional study in which nine mothers worked in citrus orchards and 32 mothers did not. Examiners were not given the exposure history of the mothers. Twelve infants—five of them born to mothers from citrus orchards—had examinations demonstrating abnormal muscle tone. Using logistic regression, the final model showed that maternal citrus grove exposure and anesthesia use were significant predictors (p < 0.05) of abnormal muscle tone with adjusted odds ratios of 9.82 (CI=1.42, 68.07) and 5.99 (CI=1.003, 35.85) for exposure and anesthesia respectively.

Keywords:

• OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
• PESTICIDES
• HYPOTONIA