Common Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy Linked to lasting Brain Changes in Children
New York, NY – Prenatal exposure to the widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos is associated with structural changes in children’s brains, according to a new study published in JAMA Neurology.Researchers found alterations in brain regions crucial for emotional regulation adn impulse control in children exposed to the pesticide before birth.
The study, focusing on an urban cohort, suggests that exposure likely occurred in the home, as many participants were born before or shortly after the US Environmental Protection Agency banned residential use of chlorpyrifos in 2001. While restrictions have expanded in some countries, the pesticide remains in use for agricultural purposes globally.
Researchers observed that prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure correlated with differences in brain structure. “Current widespread exposures,at levels comparable to those experienced in this sample,continue to place farm workers,pregnant women,and unborn children in harm’s way,” says senior author Virginia Rauh,an environmental health scientist at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. ”It is vitally important that we continue to monitor the levels of exposure in possibly vulnerable populations, especially in pregnant women in agricultural communities, as their infants continue to be at risk,” Rauh added.
This research builds on previous findings linking chlorpyrifos to neurodevelopmental problems. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide previously used to control insects in homes, gardens, and on crops.
The study acknowledges limitations, including its observational nature – demonstrating association but not causation – and its focus solely on prenatal exposure. It did not account for postnatal exposure to chlorpyrifos or other co-occurring insecticides, and the sample lacked broad demographic diversity.
Despite these limitations, researchers emphasize the need for further examination into the effects of chlorpyrifos and similar pesticides. “Other organophosphate pesticides likely produce similar effects,” says researcher Lindsay Peterson, “warranting caution to minimize exposures in pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood, when brain development is rapid and especially vulnerable to these toxic chemicals.”
