Genotoxicity in flower growers in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro: use of micronucleus test in oral mucosa

Este trabalho avaliou os poss??veis efeitos genot??xicos dos agrot??xicos na popula????o floricultora de Nova Friburgo, RJ atrav??s do teste de micron??cleo de c??lulas exfoliativas da mucosa oral. A popula????o exposta ocupacionalmente e n??o-ocupacionalmente aos agrot??xicos, composta por 80 indiv??duos, participou preenchendo um question??rio e fornecendo amostras celulares do epit??lio bucal. As l??minas foram tratadas seguindo a metodologia Feulgen-Fastgreen, codificadas e avaliadas quanto a presen??a de micron??cleo (MN), broken egg (BE), binuclea????o (Bi) e fragmenta????o (Fr). N??o foi encontrada diferen??a significativa entre expostos e n??o-expostos ocupacionais. A freq????ncia m??dia das anormalidades nucleares desta popula????o foi MN: 0,08??0,1; BE: 0,05??0,14; Bi: 0,86??0,57; Fr: 0,05??0,11. N??o houve nenhum tipo de associa????o entre a frequ??ncia de micron??cleos e as vari??veis fumo, bebida, sexo, idade, tempo de exposi????o e dieta, por??m, verificou-se que o fato de as pessoas sentirem cheiro de agrot??xicos em sua casa, independente de trabalhar ou n??o com os agrot??xicos, apresentou uma concentra????o maior de MN com p-valor de 0,05. A utiliza????o de equipamento de prote????o individual diminui ligeiramente (aus??ncia de signific??ncia) a freq????ncia de MN entre os expostos. A diversidade de agrot??xicos que os trabalhadores manipulam, a aus??ncia de um grupo controle adequado, predisposi????o gen??tica, diferen??as nos graus e rotas de exposi????o, utiliza????o de EPI de forma adequada, s??o fatores comuns que dificultaram uma an??lise de genotoxicidade neste estudo. Desta maneira, maiores investiga????es s??o necess??rias para melhor compreens??o da sa??de desta popula????o.This study analyzed possible genotoxic effects of pesticides in a flower producer???s population of Nova Friburgo municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, through micronucleus test in exfoliative cells of the oral mucosa. The participants exposed occupationally and nonoccupationaly to pesticides, comprising 80 individuals, took part in the study filling out a structured questionnaire and providing samples of the oral epithelium. Slides were processed following the Feulgen-Fastgreen method, coded and analyzed for the presence of micronucleus (MN), broken egg (BE), bi-nucleation (Bi) and fragmentation (Fr). There was no significant difference between direct and non-exposed occupational individuals. The average frequency of nuclear abnormalities of this population was MN: 0.08 ?? 0.1, BE: 0.05 ?? 0.14, Bi: 0.86 ?? 0.57; Fr: 0.05 ?? 0.11. There was any kind of association between the frequency of micronuclei and smoke, drink, sex, age, exposure time and diet variables. However, people who detected smell of pesticides in their homes, regardless of using or not pesticides in their work, showed a higher concentration of MN with p-value of 0.05. The use of personal protective equipment reduces slightly (but it is not significant) the frequency of MN between the exposed. The diversity of pesticides manipulated by workers, the lack of an appropriate control group, genetic predisposition, differences in exposure degrees and routes, appropriate use of PPE, are common factors that hampered a genotoxic analysis in this study. In this way, more investigations are necessary to better comprehend this population???s health