Use of pesticides and cancer mortality in monoculture regions

ABSTRACT

The use of agrochemicals in Brazilian agriculture is a public health problem, given the contamination of the environment, food and the poisoning resulting from the use of these substances. The objective of this article is to investigate the spatial distribution of planted crops area and mortality rates of some types of cancer: breast, cervix and prostate. Four Brazilian states were chosen that have large production of agricultural commodities to be studied. This is an ecological study of spatial analysis conducted with data and information from the Mortality Information System (SIM) of the Ministry of Health, and mortality rates were calculated for those types of cancer whose deaths occurred between 1996 and 2016. There are indications that there is a correspondence between the areas of higher estimation of the use of agrochemical Endocrine Disruptors and the increase of mortality rates by different types of cancer.

KEYWORDS
Agrochemicals; Environmental exposure; Breast neoplasm; Cervical neoplasm; Prostate neoplasm