Several months ago, Harvard researchers reported a link between pesticides and the risk of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in children. The kids with higher levels of pesticide breakdown products in their urine were about twice as likely to have ADHD.
Mothers’ Exposure to Pesticides Raises Youngsters’ Risk of ADHD:
Now a study from California demonstrates that pregnant women exposed to higher-than-average levels of pesticides are more likely to give birth to children who develop ADHD. The researchers measured pesticide metabolites in the women’s urine. These Mexican-American women living in an agricultural region of California had a strong possibility of exposure to pesticides.
After the children were born, they were tested for attention problems. The first test, at 3.5 years of age, found only a weak connection between kids’ attention spans and their mothers’ exposure. But when they tested the youngsters at age 5, those who had been exposed to pesticides before birth were more likely to have attention problems. The higher the organophosphate levels in the mothers’ urine during pregnancy, the greater the risk of ADHD in the children, especially boys.
