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Tuesday 18 May 2010

ADHD In Children & Pesticides


It is now suggested that pesticide exposure may contribute to ADHD in children. The issues of pesticide contamination and extent have had a good deal more research than into other fields having a longer history and wide implications, notably for the effect on water supplies.

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This research was reported in the E!Science web site on Monday, May 17, 2010

A team of scientists from the University of Montreal and Harvard University have discovered that exposure to organophosphate pesticides is associated with increased risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

Published in the journal Pediatrics, the investigation found a connection between exposure pesticides and the presence of symptoms of ADHD. The study focused on 1,139 children from the general U.S. population and measured pesticide levels in their urine.

The authors conclude that exposure to organophosphate pesticides, at levels common among U.S. children, may contribute to a diagnosis of ADHD.

"Previous studies have shown that exposure to some organophosphate compounds cause hyperactivity and cognitive deficits in animals," says lead author Maryse F. Bouchard of the University of Montreal Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center.

"Our study found that exposure to organophosphates in developing children might have effects on neural systems and could contribute to ADHD behaviors, such as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity."

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Is it possible to say that where pesticides go then food additives and other products, notably fragrances, follow?

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