Cholinesterase Activity in Female Greenhouse Workers —Influence of Work Practices and Use of Oral Contraceptives

Cholinesterase Activity in Female Greenhouse Workers—Influence of Work Practices and Use of Oral Contraceptives: Jesper B NIELSEN, et al. Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark—Objectives—Associations between serum butyryl cholinesterase activity in female greenhouse workers and information from a questionnaire on work, use of personal protective equipment, and lifestyle were evaluated. Methods— Data were gathered for 571 female greenhouse workers by means of a questionnaire and serum cholinesterase analyses (butyrylthiocholin-assay). Results—The mean concentrat ion of butyryl cholinesterase in serum was 6.50 kU/l. Serum butyryl cholinesterase activity was significantly decreased by the use of oral contraceptives (p<0.001). Among women with re-entry intervals less than 24 h, serum butyryl cholinesterase activities were significantly reduced. Within this group of women, only those not using gloves during the manual handling of plant cultures had significantly reduced serum butyryl cholinesterase activities (p=0.028). Conclusions—Use of oral contraceptives is an important confounder in studies on serum butyryl cholinesterase activity. If reentry intervals were below 24 h, serum butyryl cholinesterase activity was significantly inhibited, but use of gloves protected the women from such exposures. (J Occup Health 2002; 44: 234–239)