DDT Exposure In Womb And Childhood Development Problems

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Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Tropical Diseases
Article Date: 05 Jul 2006 - 11:00 PST

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DDT, a pesticide that was banned in the developed world in the 1970s, can cause serious development problems for children who were exposed to it while they were still in the womb, say researchers from the University of California Berkeley, USA.

Despite evidence that DDT has several dangers - it can cause premature births and low birthweight - it is still used in many parts of the world to control the spread of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. DDT remains in the environment long after it has been used and builds up in the food chain. Humans and animals accumulate it each time they are exposed.

You can read about this study in the journal Pediatrics.

After some time DDT breaks down in the body into DDE and DDD. These chemicals pose similar dangers to human health as DDT does. About 10% of all Americans have DDT in them, nearly everyone has DDE.

In this study the researchers looked at the DDT blood levels of 360 pregnant women, most of whom were born in Mexico. They monitored the health and development of their children after they were born. The mothers' age, social status, education, marital and work status, sex of child, how long a child was breastfed for and what type of home environment they had, were all taken into account.

The women's babies had a mental and physical test when they were 6, 12 and 24 months old. The researchers say there was a very close link between lower test scores and higher DDT levels in the mothers. In other words, the babies whose mothers had higher DDT levels developed more slowly, physically and mentally, than those whose mothers had low DDT levels.

There was also an association between baby development and mother's DDE levels. However, not so marked as with DDT levels.

The longer a baby was breastfed, the lower the negative impact of DDT and DDE on his/her development, said the researchers.

The researchers plan to continue monitoring each child's development over the coming years.

In Mexico DDT for agricultural use was banned in 2000 - much more recently than in the rest of North America.

Lead researcher, Dr Brenda Eskenazi, said "People need to consider these data if they are going to continue using DDT or reintroduce it in countries where it's been banned. Given the impact of malaria on child health, I'm not saying that we shouldn't use it. But if we do, we need to think of ways to protect women and children."

"In Utero Exposure to Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and Neurodevelopment Among Young Mexican American Children"
Authors: Brenda Eskenazi, PhD, Amy R. Marks, MPH, Asa Bradman, PhD, Laura Fenster, PhD, Caroline Johnson, PhD, Dana B. Barr, PhD and Nicholas P. Jewell, PhD
PEDIATRICS Vol. 118 No. 1 July 2006, pp. 233-241 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-3117)
Link to Abstract.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
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