Prenatal pesticide exposure 'lowers child's IQ'RSS Feed

Prenatal exposure to pesticides could cause brain injury in children which manifests itself as a lower IQ score around the age of seven, research has indicated.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that every tenfold increase in levels of organophosphates identified during pregnancy was associated with a 5.5 reduction in overall IQ scores in the seven-year-olds.

Furthermore, children with the highest levels of exposure to the pesticide before birth scored an average seven points lower than those with the least exposure.

Lead author Maryse Bouchard said: "It is very unusual to see this much consistency across populations in studies, so that speaks to the significance of the findings.

"The children are now at a stage where they are going to school, so it's easier to get good, valid assessments of cognitive function."

This follows news that pesticides could be causing the brain injury seen in Parkinson's disease.

Rotenone and paraquat were linked to the condition by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale.

Serious Law, award winning traumatic brain injury law firm

Posted by Matthew Dixon
 

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