Sugarcane Workweek Study: Risk Factors for Daily Changes in Creatinine

Introduction: Agricultural workers laboring in thermally stressful environments are at increased risk for kidney injury and chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu), and their environmental and occupational exposures have been considered to be important risk factors. This study examined the effects of repeated kidney stress from the simultaneous strain of work and other factors experienced by workers in Guatemala during a typical workweek. Methods: We collected data from 107 sugarcane workers across 7 consecutive work shifts. Data included information on daily occupational, meteorological, environmental, and lifestyle factors. We used multivariable linear mixed models to evaluate associations of these factors with percent change in creatinine. Results: We observed that increasing wet bulb globe temperature (beta = 2.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.3%, 4.7%) and increasing diastolic blood pressure (beta = 6.2%, 95% CI = 0.9%, 11.6%) were associated with increases in creatinine across the shift, whereas consumption of water from chlorinated dormitory tanks as compared to artesian well water (beta = -17.5%, 95% CI = -29.6%, -5.4%) and increasing number of rest breaks (beta = -5.8%, 95% CI = -9.0%, -2.6%) were found to be protective against increases in creatinine. Workers reporting drinking tank water had lower concentrations of urine creatinine-corrected arsenic, lead, uranium, and glyphosate compared to workers reporting the use of well water or municipal water. Conclusion: These results reinforce the need to focus on preventive actions that reduce kidney injury among this worker population, including strategies to reduce heat stress, managing blood pressure, and examining water sources of workers for nephrotoxic contaminants.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of kidney stress on agricultural workers in Guatemala during a typical workweek, finding that increasing wet bulb globe temperature and diastolic blood pressure were associated with increases in creatinine levels, while drinking water from chlorinated dormitory tanks and increasing rest breaks were protective. Workers drinking tank water showed lower concentrations of nephrotoxic contaminants in their urine compared to those using well water or municipal water, highlighting the need for preventive actions to reduce kidney injury in this population.