The fluctuation in erythrocyte cholinesterase levels and a battery of liver function tests (serum Alk. Phos., GOT, GPT, LDH, r-GTP, and Tot. Chol.) were measured over a year in farm workers using pesticide sprays . The relationships between pairs of those values observed in 18 male workers and 12 female workers were them examined and the results are presented as follows. 1) For our investigation we used the subjects who had had samples drawn during the months of May, July, October, and January of the following year, because the number of subjects who had blood samples drawn every month of the study was extremely small . Thus, we examined the blood samples of 12 study subjects who had samples drawn during each of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, respectively. 2) The coefficients of variation for serum GOT, GPT, γ-GTP, and TG, measured during the year for the twelve subjects were high, while the coefficients of variation for Alk. Pho., LAP, and Tot. Chol., as well as erythrocyte cholinesterase were low . 3) A comparision of men and women using the coefficient of variation for each of the indices revealed a significant difference (p<0 .05) only for Alk. Pho. and GPT. 4) Over the period of one year, a total of 99 blood samples from male subjects and 70 samples from females were collected . The correlations between pairs of the values for serum Alk. Pho., GOT, GPT, LDH, r-GTP, LAP, and Tot. Chol, for these samples showed almost exclusively significant positive correlations (p<0 .001, or p<0.01). On the other hand, the erythrocyte cholinesterase levels in men showed a positive correlation only with the serum triglyceride (p<0.0l) and in women showed a positive correlation only with the serum GOT (p<0.05). 5) Furthermore, when looking at the relationships between erythrocyte cholinesterase and liver function indices on a month-by-month basis for each sex, a positive correlation was seen only between erythrocyte cholinesterase and Alk . Pho. for men in the month of June (p<0.05). For male samples drawn during other months and for all female samples, no other positive correlation was seen between erythrocyte cholinesterase and any liver function index. Thus, with the, above results and according to other references cited below, we must conclude that measuring cholinesterase levels in the erythrocytes of farm workers u sing pesticides would be very useful in their health care management for the prevention of pesticide poisoning.
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