Pesticide exposure found to negatively impact babies in the womb

 Carol Forsloff - Exposure to certain pesticides before birth can increase potential for the child to have attention deficit disorder, an indication of the significance of the environment  to brain development.

A recent study outlined in Environmental Health Perspectives examines how organophosphate (OP) pesticides impacts the nervous systems.

The EPA tells us "infants and children may be especially sensitive to health risks posed by pesticides for several reasons:

• their internal organs are still developing and maturing,


• inrelation to their body weight, infants and children eat and drink more than adults, possibly increasing their exposure to pesticides in foodand water.


• certain behaviors--such as playing on floors or lawns or putting objects in their mouths--increase a child's exposure to pesticides used in homes and yards."

Infants and young children have increased vulnerability to OP exposures than adults becaue their ability to produce the enzyme that detoxifies OP pesticides is still developing.

Now scientists have established this sensitivity to pesticide exposure occurs in the womb.  Mothers participating in the study were recruited during pregnancy by the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS).   These are Mexican-American women living in the Salinas Valley.  This is an area of considerable agricultural development where more than 235,000 kig of pesticides are applied annually.

Scientists took urine samples from these expectant mothers and from their children several times after they were born.  Then the behaviors of the children were examined at different intervals, at age 3 1/2 and 5 years old, using formalized tests and reports of the mothers.  The Mexican-American women lived in the Salinas Valley, an area of intensive agriculture where more than 235,000 kg of pesticides are applied annually.

What the researchers found is that the more concentration there was of pesticides in the urine samples, the more likely there was to have a child with scores consistent with the clinical diagnosis of attention deficit disorder or ADHD.

"A tenfold increase in levels of measured pesticide metabolites in the mother’s urine during pregnancy correlated to about a 500% increase in the likelihood of attention issues in their 5-year-olds, whereas a tenfold increase in levels of metabolites in the children’s urine at 5 years of age corresponded to a 30% higher likelihood," the scientists reported, as an astonishing result of how serious pesticides can be on children even before they are born.

These same scientists underline the importance of knowing about these issues because “given that attention problems of children interfere with learning and social development, finding potential causes that can be remediated are of great public health importance.” 

EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. EHP is an open-access journal, and all EHP content is available free online at http://www.ehponline.org/. Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing handles marketing and public relations for the publication and is responsible for creation and distribution of this press release.