Study suggests possible pesticide, ADHD link

New pediatric research suggests that pesticides may be to blame for increasing children's risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Worse, the pesticides under scrutiny are quite common.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Children who had traces of nuerotoxic organophosphate pesticides in their urine were more likely to meet the criteria for also having ADHD than those children who did not have traces. Canadian researchers evaluated 1,140 children who were participating in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Of those children, 119 had ADHD. 

Children who had traces of the pesticide in their urine were twice as likely to have ADHD as those without, which suggests a link between the condition and the pesticides. The pesticides enter the body through diet, and children on an organic diet were found to have an 85 to 90 percent reduction in pesticide by-products in their urine samples. 

The conclusion of the research is that parents should feed their kids organic foods. Pregnant women should also eat organic. The researchers further suggested that women who intended to become pregnant should eat organic as much as six months before conception.  

The pesticides identified in the study have been researched before and found to be harmful to people who work with them routinely. The current study is unique however, because it examines the everyday effect of the pesticides on children, who are only exposed via diet. It has long been assumed that pesticides on foods are not dangerous by the time they arrive at market, or that they can be easily washed or cooked away. The study now challenges that conventional wisdom. 

The pesticides are widespread. Organophosphates are found in about 40 registered pesticides. In addition to being exposed by food, EPA officials believe people are being exposed via drinking water and residential use. 

Consumers are advised to beware of toxins used to kill bugs around the house. Many of the same compounds used in agriculture are used in homes and gardens. People can be exposed by handling the chemicals and children can be exposed by touching surfaces or playing around areas treated with the pesticides. In addition to eating organic, people are advised to consider organic methods of gardening and bug control around their homes.

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