Showing papers by "Donna Mergler published in 2010"

Intellectual Impairment in School-Age Children Exposed to Manganese from Drinking Water

Abstract: BackgroundManganese is an essential nutrient, but in excess it can be a potent neurotoxicant. Despite the common occurrence of manganese in groundwater, the risks associated with this source of exp...

Symptoms of psychological distress and suicidal ideation among banana workers with a history of poisoning by organophosphate or n-methyl carbamate pesticides.

Abstract: Objectives Neuropsychiatric disorders and increased suicide rates have been associated with exposure to cholinesterase inhibiting organophosphates. This study examined symptoms of psychological distress, including suicidal ideation, among banana workers in Costa Rica previously exposed to a cholinesterase inhibiting pesticide. Methods 78 workers who had received medical attention 1e3 years previously for occupational pesticide poisoning were recruited: 54 had been exposed to organophosphate, 24 to carbamate, and 43 and 35, respectively, had single and multiple poisoning episodes with a cholinesterase inhibitor. Referents were 130 nonpoisoned workers randomly selected from company payrolls. Psychological distress symptoms during the month prior to interview were obtained using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), which has a general severity index and nine subscale scores. Differences in abnormal BSI scores (T score$63) were assessed through multivariate logistic regression for all poisoned and for subcategories of poisoned as compared to non-poisoned workers. Results Organophosphate poisoned workers reported significantly more symptoms than non-poisoned on all but one symptom dimension. Significant trends of increasing symptoms with increasing number of previous poisonings were seen for somatisation, obsessivecompulsiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, depression and anxiety. Carbamate poisoned workers only had increased scores for somatisation. The ORs for suicidal thoughts were: all poisoned 3.58 (95% CI 1.45 to 8.84); organophosphate poisoned 3.72 (1.41 to 9.81); carbamate poisoned 2.57 (0.73 to 9.81); and 2.65 and 4.98, respectively for 1 and $2 poisonings (trend p¼0.01). Conclusions This cross-sectional study showed a relationship between acute occupational poisoning with organophosphates and psychological distress including suicidal ideation. Stronger designs are needed to address causality.

Tools for Thoughtful Action: The Role of Ecosystem Approaches to Health in Enhancing Public Health

Abstract: The intimate interdependence of human health and the ecosystems in which we are embedded is now a commonplace observation. For much of the history of public health, this was not so obvious. After over a century of focus on diseases, their biologic causes and the correction of exposures (clean water and air) and facilitation of responses (immunizations and nutrition), public health discourse shifted to embrace the concept of determinants of health as extending to social, economic and environmental realms. This moved the discourse and science of public health into an unprecedented level of complexity just as public concern about the environment heightened. To address multifactorial, dynamic impacts on health, a new paradigm was needed which would overcome the separation of humans and ecosystems. Ecosystem approaches to health arose in the 1990s from a rich background of intellectual ferment as Canada wrestled with diverse problems ranging from Great Lakes contamination to zoonotic diseases. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) played a lead role in supporting an international community of scientists and scholars who advanced ecosystem approaches to health. These collective efforts have enabled a shift to a research paradigm that embraces transdisciplinarity, social justice, gender equity, multi-stakeholder participation and sustainability.

Selenium and mercury in the Brazilian Amazon: opposing influences on age-related cataracts.

Abstract: BackgroundAge-related cataracts (ARCs) are an important cause of blindness in developing countries. Although antioxidants may be part of the body’s defense to prevent ARC, environmental contaminant...