Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Prenatal Residential Proximity to Agricultural Pesticides: The CHARGE Study
Commentary: A new study conducted at University of California, Davis, just published in Environmental Health Perspectives (www.ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1307044/) reports that children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) were more likely than other children to have mothers who were exposed during pregnancy to airborne pesticides from agriculture in California. In addition, exposure to agricultural pesticides in pregnancy was also linked to other types of developmental delay among children. Developmental delays included taking extra time to reach communication, social or motor skill milestones. The study was made possible since California maps and reports agricultural pesticide use, allowing the researchers to examine the course of exposure for the mothers of almost 1,000 children. New York maintains a registry as well but many states do not have a pesticide registry.
In the new study, about a third of mothers had lived within a mile of fields treated with pesticides, most commonly organophosphates, and their children were 60 percent more likely to have ASD than children of non-exposed mothers. Autism risk was also increased with exposure to pyrethroid insecticides, as was the risk for developmental delay. Carbamate pesticides were linked to developmental delay but not to ASDs. Time of exposure to some pesticides mattered (before conception or in the third trimester were most vulnerable times), but for other pesticides, the effect was the same no matter when during pregnancy the developing fetus was exposed. Eliminating pesticide exposure at home, and integrating basic detoxification techniques (such as increased fluids, fiber, exercise, sauna with sweating, targeted supplements for liver detox, etc) especially in the months before pregnancy make good sense in light of studies such as this one. Scientific studies need to be performed on using different detoxification techniques during pregnancy to evaluate their efficacy and safety in reducing illness in the developing fetus, considering known exposure risks and the rising rates of autism in the US. I discuss the effects of environmental toxins and the importance of detoxification for good health in my book, “Why Can’t I Get Better: Solving the Mystery of Lyme Disease & Chronic Illness, in chapter 8 on Lyme and Environmental Toxins, and specific detoxification techniques are discussed in chapter 9, Lyme, Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapies.