Dataset Information

Prenatal Residential Proximity to Agricultural Pesticide Use and IQ in 7-Year-Old Children.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Residential proximity to agricultural pesticide use has been associated with neural tube defects and autism, but more subtle outcomes such as cognition have not been studied.

Objectives

We evaluated the relationship between prenatal residential proximity to agricultural use of potentially neurotoxic pesticides and neurodevelopment in 7-year-old children.

Methods

Participants included mothers and children (n=283) living in the agricultural Salinas Valley of California enrolled in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study. We estimated agricultural pesticide use within 1 km of maternal residences during pregnancy using a geographic information system, residential location, and California’s comprehensive agricultural Pesticide Use Report data. We used regression models to evaluate prenatal residential proximity to agricultural use of five potentially neurotoxic pesticide groups (organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, and manganese fungicides) and five individual organophosphates (acephate, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion, and oxydemeton-methyl) and cognition in 7-year-old children. All models included prenatal urinary dialkyl phosphate metabolite concentrations.

Results

We observed a decrease of 2.2 points [95% confidence interval (CI): −3.9, −0.5] in Full-Scale IQ and 2.9 points (95% CI: −4.4, −1.3) in Verbal Comprehension for each standard deviation increase in toxicity-weighted use of organophosphate pesticides. In separate models, we observed similar decrements in Full-Scale IQ with each standard deviation increase of use for two organophosphates (acephate and oxydemeton-methyl) and three neurotoxic pesticide groups (pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, and manganese fungicides).

Conclusions

This study identified potential relationships between maternal residential proximity to agricultural use of neurotoxic pesticides and poorer neurodevelopment in children. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP504.

SUBMITTER: Gunier RB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5644974 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:To examine the relationship between residential proximity to agricultural fumigant use and respiratory symptoms and lung function in 7-year old children. METHODS:Participants were 294 children living in the agricultural Salinas Valley, California and enrolled in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children Of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study. We obtained information on respiratory symptoms and asthma medication use from maternal questionnaires and children performed spirometry to determine the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flow 25-75% (FEF25-75) at 7-years of age. We estimated agricultural fumigant use within 3, 5 and 8?km of residences during pregnancy and from birth to age 7 using California's Pesticide Use Report data. We evaluated the association between prenatal and postnatal residential proximity to agricultural use of methyl bromide, chloropicrin, metam sodium and 1,3-dichloropropene with respiratory symptoms and use of asthma medication with logistic regression models and continuous lung function measurements with linear regression models adjusted for confounders. RESULTS:There were no significant associations between residential proximity to use of fumigants and respiratory symptoms or use of asthma medication. We did not observe any adverse relationships between residential proximity to fumigant use and lung function measurements. Unexpectedly, we observed suggestive evidence of improved FEV1 and FEF25-75 with higher use of methyl bromide and chloropicrin during the prenatal period. For example, for each 10-fold increase in methyl bromide use during the prenatal development period we observed higher FEV1 (? = 0.06?L/s; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.12) and higher FEF25-75 (? = 0.15?L/s; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.27). Maternal report of child allergies (runny nose without a cold during the previous year) modified the relationship between FEV1 and prenatal proximity to methyl bromide use (p = .07) and we only observed higher FEV1 among children without allergies (? = 0.08?L/s; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.14 for a 10-fold increase in methyl bromide use during the prenatal period). CONCLUSIONS:Residential proximity to agricultural fumigant use during pregnancy and childhood did not adversely affect respiratory health in the children through 7 years of age. These findings should be explored in larger studies.

Project description:BackgroundPrenatal pesticide exposure has been associated with poorer neurodevelopment during childhood, which could lead to greater risk-taking behaviors and delinquency in adolescence. This association may be augmented by adversity exposure.ObjectivesEvaluate the relationship between prenatal pesticide exposure and risk-taking behavior in young adults at 18-years of age. Assess whether adversity exposure modifies these associations.MethodsParticipants included mother-child dyads (n = 467) enrolled in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children Of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a longitudinal birth cohort set in the agricultural Salinas Valley of California. We estimated agricultural pesticide use within one km of maternal residences during pregnancy using a geographic information system, residential addresses, and California's Pesticide Use Reporting data. We used Bayesian hierarchical regression to evaluate associations of prenatal exposure to a mixture of 11 neurotoxic pesticides with self-reported police encounters, risk-taking behaviors, and unique types and frequency of delinquent acts. We also evaluated effect modification of these relationships by adversity exposure.ResultsWe observed generally null associations of neurotoxic pesticide use with risk-taking behaviors. Prenatal residential proximity to chlorpyrifos use was associated with higher risk of a police encounter, a delinquent act, and higher incidence of both unique types of acts committed and total frequency of delinquent acts. Prenatal residential proximity to dimethoate use was associated with a higher incidence of police encounters and methomyl with a higher risk of committing a delinquent act. There were no consistent differences when stratified by the number of adverse childhood experiences.ConclusionsWe observed mostly null associations between prenatal residential proximity to agricultural pesticide use and risk-taking behaviors at age 18, with little evidence of effect modification by childhood adversity. There were suggestive associations for chlorpyrifos use with having any police encounter and with all measures of delinquent acts that warrant confirmation in other studies.