Abstract

The VIII region of Chile is an important agricultural producer. This has led to an increase in the use ofchemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, etc. This could account for an increase of cytogenetic damage, whichcould also be related to a higher number of birth defects and incidence of cancer. These are the reasons whyit has become a necessity to carry out a study about reproductive health and the possible cytogenetic damagein women labouredly exposed. This study consisted in the application of two techniques widely used ingenotoxicology: Micronucleus assay (MN) and Sister Chromatid Exchange assay (SCE) using the peripheralblood lymphocytes of 87 labouredly exposed women and 54 non-exposed women. The relative risk of theexposure was also considered using the Odd Ratio measurement. The results showed a highly significantstatistical difference between both reference and exposed groups, in the MN and SCE frequency. In relationto reproductive problems for most evaluated parameters, the exposure to pesticides showed to be a risk factor.