More Studies Show Pesticides' Role in Intelligence

Sure, our kids may be as adept as ever with video games, but Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (part of the Department of Health and Human Services), published three independent studies last week showing that prenatal pesticide exposure can hinder kids’ later cognitive abilities.

Click on the below to read the recaps of the respective studies.

• “Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphates, Paraoxonase 1, and Cognitive Development in Childhood”
• “Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticides and IQ in 7-Year-Old Children”
• “7-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide”

According to the Pesticide Action Network, organophosphates (OPs) “are some of the most common, and most toxic insecticides used today, adversely affecting the human nervous system even at low levels of exposure.”

Click here to read Tara Parker-Pope’s take on the studies in her Well blog on The New York Times website, which includes a discussion with Dr. Philip Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics and director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai.