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August 26, 2010
Study Examines Effects Of Prenatal And Childhood Exposures To Pesticides.
The Los Angeles Times (8/19, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported that a study published Aug. 19 "in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives examines the effects of both prenatal and childhood exposure to" organophosphate "pesticides, which are widely used in the United States to control insects on food crops." For the study, researchers from the University of California-Berkeley have been following "more than 300 Mexican American children" and their mothers "living in the heavily agricultural Salinas Valley."
The Time (8/19, Blue) "Wellness" blog reported, "When the women were pregnant, the researchers took urine samples and tested them for their level of organophosphate metabolites." At follow-up "five years later, the children born to women with high levels of pesticide traces in their urine were far more likely to have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder."
"For each tenfold increase in pesticide metabolites in a mom's system, the risk of an attention disorder rose fivefold in her child," MSNBC (8/19, Carroll) reported.
The San Francisco Chronicle (8/19, Scott) "The Thin Green Line" reported that the study's authors "point to other studies showing that food is a significant source of exposure for the general population." For that reason, "they suggest that pregnant women eat organic produce, or at least wash conventional produce very thoroughly." The UK's Telegraph (8/19, Alleyne), the UK's Daily Mail (8/19, Macrae), and Reuters (8/20) also covered the story.
Related Links:
- More evidence links pesticides to hyperactivity
," Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2010.
- A link between pesticides and attention disorders?," Laura Blue, Time: Wellness Blog, August 19, 2010.
- ADHD risk may be tied to pesticide exposure before birth ," Linda Carroll, MSNBC, August 19, 2010.
- Researchers: Pregnant women should eat organic," Cameron Scott, San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2010.
Posted by admin at August 26, 2010 07:25 PM