Expectant mothers should avoid proximity with pesticide as exposure to the same increases the risk of autism in children per a new study.
The study has been led by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute and discovered that pregnant women who lived near farms and fields (which are higher zones of chemical pesticides) "experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay."
The findings reveal that risk of having a child with autism is higher if the woman is exposed to the pesticides in her second and third trimesters.
"This study validates the results of earlier research that has reported associations between having a child with autism and prenatal exposure to agricultural chemicals in California," revealed the study's lead author Janie F. Shelton.
California holds the distinction of being state that produces maximum agricultural products. Nearly 200 million pounds of chemical pesticides, which are essential for the agricultural industry, are administered every year.
However, some of the pesticides that are used frequently are neurotoxic and can be detrimental as they may cause damage to the brain development during the pre-natal stage. This could potentially result in autism spectrum disorder in the child or developmental delay. Pesticides are possibly more reactive during the gestation period as the brain is still in the developmental stages and, therefore, more susceptible.
The team of researchers examined the application of commercial pesticide and deployed the California Pesticide Use Report for this purpose. The team also linked the data to address 1000 participants in the Northern California-based Childhood Risk of Autism from Genetics and Environment (CHARGE) study. The research also observed families who had children aged between 2 to 5 years, who were diagnosed with autism or developmental delay and mapped the areas where the participants resided at the time of their pregnancy, as well as the birth of the child.
The team found that "several classes of pesticides more commonly applied near residences of mothers whose children developed autism or had delayed cognitive or other skills."
The researchers discovered that when organophosphate was applied the risk of the pregnant woman's fetus getting affected by autism was higher, especially in her second trimester. Carbamates, on the other hand, are believed to be associated with developmental delay.
The study has been published in the Environmental Health Perspective on June 22.
