. 2022 Sep 29;130(9):096002. doi: 10.1289/EHP9934

Table 1.

Characteristics of Latin American and the Caribbean studies on pesticide exposure and health outcomes published between 2007 and 2021 ( $lowercase italic n equals 233$ ).

Characteristic	$n$ (%)
Study country^a
Argentina	21 (8.9)
Bolivia	6 (2.6)
Brazil	88 (37.4)
Chile	7 (3.0)
Colombia	9 (3.8)
Costa Rica	14 (6.0)
Dominican Republic	1 (0.4)
Ecuador	17 (7.2)
El Salvador	1 (0.4)
Guadeloupe	14 (6.0)
Jamaica	1 (0.4)
Mexico	46 (19.6)
Nicaragua	4 (1.7)
Paraguay	1 (0.4)
Peru	2 (0.8)
Venezuela	3 (1.3)
Study design
Cohort	41 (17.5)
Cross sectional	167 (71.7)
Case–control	25 (10.7)
Study population
Farmworkers	105 (45.1)
Other workers (e.g., vector control program workers)	9 (3.9)
General population	38 (16.3)
Mother–child pairs	27 (11.6)
Pregnant women only	6 (2.6)
Children only	48 (20.6)
Pesticide exposure assessment method^b^,^c
Indirect
Questionnaire only	103 (43.1)
Other (e.g., job status ascertained via death certificate or surveillance system, residential proximity)	9 (3.8)
Direct
Cholinesterase activity^d	57 (23.8)
Pesticides or pesticide metabolites measured in biological matrix	70 (29.3)
Biological matrix used for pesticide exposure assessment^e
Blood	99 (73.9)
Breast milk	2 (1.5)
Hair	4 (3.0)
Urine	28 (20.9)
Toenail	1 (0.7)
Pesticides assessed^f
Insecticides in general (no class specified)	5 (1.6)
Organophosphates	81 (26.2)
Organophosphates and carbamates^g	20 (6.5)
Organochlorines	46 (14.9)
Pyrethroids	20 (6.5)
Neonicotinoids	2 (0.6)
Herbicides	21 (6.8)
Fungicides	11 (3.6)
Larvicides	1 (0.3)
Rodenticides	1 (0.3)
Natural pesticides	1 (0.3)
Multiple pesticide classes (unspecified)	100 (32.3)
Main health outcomes^h
Genotoxicity	62 (24.0)
Neurobehavioral outcomes	54 (20.9)
Placental outcomes and teratogenicity	13 (5.1)
Cancer	14 (5.4)
Thyroid function	16 (6.2)
Reproductive outcomes	16 (6.2)
Birth outcomes and child growth	13 (5.1)
Other effects	70 (27.1)
Kidney functionⁱ	9 (3.5)
Respiratory and allergic outcomesⁱ	7 (2.7)
Liver injuryⁱ	8 (3.1)
Hematological parameters and lipid profileⁱ	17 (6.6)
Acoustic damageⁱ	8 (3.1)
Othersⁱ	26 (10.1)

^{^a}

$lowercase italic n greater than 233$ because one published study (Maluf et al.²⁴⁵) was conducted in three countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico).

^{^b}

A total of 125 published studies employed direct exposure assessment methods, with some measuring both cholinesterase activity and pesticide metabolites concentrations. Of these, 81 (65.3%) used data from the direct exposure assessment in exposure–outcome analyses (e.g., some studies measured urinary biomarkers of exposure and ascertained occupational status via questionnaire but only reported exposure–outcome associations using occupational status).

^{^c}

$lowercase italic n greater than 233$ because some published studies employed more than one exposure assessment method (e.g., measurement of cholinesterase activity in blood and urinary pesticide metabolites).

^{^d}

A total of 57 published studies measured cholinesterase activity only; 4 studies measured cholinesterase activity in addition to other pesticide metabolites.

^{^e}

Only for published studies with direct pesticide exposure assessment, but nine studies measured pesticides in more than one biological matrix.

^{^f}

$lowercase italic n greater than 233$ because some published studies assessed multiple pesticide groups.

^{^g}

Exposure assessed via acetylcholinesterase activity monitoring and authors did not differentiate if they were primarily examining organophosphates or carbamates.

^{^h}

$lowercase italic n greater than 233$ because some published studies assessed outcomes from more than one group.

^ⁱ

Proportion of published studies that assessed this outcome out of all the studies included in the review ( $lowercase italic n equals 233$ ); total studies that assessed other health effects $greater than 70$ because some assessed multiple outcomes in this category (e.g., several published studies examined liver injury and hematological parameters).