• Sara A Quandt, Francis O Walker, Jennifer W Talton, Phillip Summers, Haiying Chen, Diane K McLeod, and Thomas A Arcury.
• Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health (Dr Quandt, Ms McLeod); Center for Worker Health (Drs Quandt, Walker, Chen, Arcury); Department of Neurology (Dr Walker); Department of Biostatistical Science, Division of Public Health Sciences (Ms Talton, Dr Chen); Department of Family and Community Medicine (Dr Arcury, Mr Summers), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
• J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2016 Mar 1; 58 (3): 248-53.

ObjectivesWe compared olfactory function in pesticide-exposed Latino farmworkers and nonfarmworkers to explore its use as a subclinical indicator of neurological pesticide effects.MethodsWe recruited 304 current farmworkers and 247 nonfarmworkers. All completed odor identification (14 odors) and threshold tests (16 concentrations of n-butanol) using a well-established methodology.ResultsFarmworkers reported significantly greater lifetime pesticide exposure. Performance on both olfactory tests declined with age. Odor identification performance did not differ between groups. For odor threshold, farmworkers needed significantly higher concentrations to detect the odor. Results were unchanged when adjusted for sex, age, and smoking.ConclusionOlfactory function differences between farmworkers and nonfarmworkers suggest possible neurological effects. Because declining olfactory function is an early symptom of Parkinson disease and related conditions, it is a possible subclinical indicator of neurodegenerative disease in this vulnerable worker population.

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