According to a report given by University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health researchers, when an unborn child is exposed to pesticide in the womb, there are high risks of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is not the first time that researchers have linked pesticide to the development of ADHD. An earlier report published in the Pediatrics journal stated that children who were exposed to pesticides had greater chances of developing ADHD. Parents should therefore be concerned with how to minimize the risk of pesticide exposure in their homes.
The researchers in California were looking at the effect of environmental exposure on children's and women's health in Salinas Valley, which is an agricultural area where a lot of pesticide is used. After testing urine of pregnant women for any residues of pesticide, the researchers observed the behaviors of their children aged between three-and-a-half and five years. The kids aged five years, who had experienced exposure to organophosphate pesticides in the womb, manifested more difficulties with behavior and attention than those who had not been exposed to the pesticides. The study also showed that the higher the level of exposure, the higher the risks of ADHD became.
Although there is no conclusive evidence that pesticides result in ADHD, it is not difficult to deduce that organophosphate pesticides can impair brain function. After all, the pesticides work through the disruption of neurotransmitters that transport signals in the brain.
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