Prenatal pesticide exposure tied to lower IQ in children
University of California – UC Newsroom | Prenatal pesticide exposure tied to lower IQ.
Interesting new study out of the University of California (Berkeley) showing that prenatal exposure to certain pesticides is related to lower intelligence scores at age 7. Not particularly surprising but the study gives yet more support to the growing body of research touting the significant benefits of organic foods over their chemically-grown counterparts. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The researchers found that every tenfold increase in measures of organophosphates — widely used on food crops — detected during a mother’s pregnancy corresponded to a 5.5 point drop in overall IQ scores in the 7-year-olds. Children in the study with the highest levels of prenatal pesticide exposure scored seven points lower on a standardized measure of intelligence compared with children who had the lowest levels of exposure.
“These associations are substantial, especially when viewing this at a population-wide level,” said study principal investigator Brenda Eskenazi, UC Berkeley professor of epidemiology and of maternal and child health. “That difference could mean, on average, more kids being shifted into the lower end of the spectrum of learning, and more kids needing special services in school.”
