ADHD and Pesticides

www.cnn.com/health
May 17,2010

(Health.com) -- Children exposed to higher levels of a type of pesticide found in trace amounts on commercially grown fruit and vegetables are more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder than children with less exposure, a nationwide study suggests.

Researchers measured the levels of pesticide byproducts in the urine of 1,139 children from across the United States. Children with above-average levels of one common byproduct had roughly twice the odds of getting a diagnosis of ADHD, according to the study, which appears in the journal Pediatrics.

Exposure to the pesticides, known as organophosphates, has been linked to behavioral and cognitive problems in children in the past, but previous studies have focused on communities of farm workers and other high-risk populations. This study is the first to examine the effects of exposure in the population at large.

Organophosphates are "designed" to have toxic effects on the nervous system, says the lead author of the study, Maryse Bouchard, Ph.D., a researcher in the department of environmental and occupational health at the University of Montreal. "That's how they kill pests."

The pesticides act on a set of brain chemicals closely related to those involved in ADHD, Bouchard explains, "so it seems plausible that exposure to organophosphates could be associated with ADHD-like symptoms."

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Environmental Protection Agency regulations have eliminated most residential uses for the pesticides (including lawn care and termite extermination), so the largest source of exposure for children is believed to be food, especially commercially grown produce. Adults are exposed to the pesticides as well, but young children appear to be especially sensitive to them, the researchers say.

Detectable levels of pesticides are present in a large number of fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S., according to a 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited in the study. In a representative sample of produce tested by the agency, 28 percent of frozen blueberries, 20 percent of celery, and 25 percent of strawberries contained traces of one type of organophosphate. Other types of organophosphates were found in 27 percent of green beans, 17 percent of peaches, and 8 percent of broccoli.

Although kids should not stop eating fruits and vegetables, buying organic or local produce whenever possible is a good idea, says Bouchard.

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"Organic fruits and vegetables contain much less pesticides, so I would certainly advise getting those for children," she says. "National surveys have also shown that fruits and vegetables from farmers' markets contain less pesticides even if they're not organic. If you can buy local and from farmers' markets, that's a good way to go."

A direct cause-and-effect link between pesticides and ADHD "is really hard to establish," says Dana Boyd Barr, Ph.D., a professor of environmental and occupational health at Emory University. However, she says, "There appears to be some relation between organophosphate pesticide exposure and the development of ADHD."

This is the largest study of its kind to date, according to Barr, who researched pesticides for more than 20 years in her previous job with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but was not involved in the study.

Bouchard and her colleagues analyzed urine samples from children ages 8 to 15. The samples were collected during an annual, nationwide survey conducted by the CDC, known as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

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The researchers tested the samples for six chemical byproducts (known as metabolites) that result when the body breaks down more than 28 different pesticides. Nearly 95 percent of the children had at least one byproduct detected in their urine.

Just over 10 percent of the children in the study were diagnosed with ADHD. The kids were judged to have ADHD if their symptoms (as reported by parents) met established criteria for the disorder, or if they had taken ADHD medication regularly in the previous year.

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One group of pesticide byproducts was associated with a substantially increased risk of ADHD. Compared with kids who had the lowest levels, the kids whose levels were 10 times higher were 55 percent more likely to have ADHD. (Another group of byproducts did not appear to be linked to the disorder.)

In addition, children with higher-than-average levels of the most commonly detected byproduct -- found in roughly 6 in 10 kids -- were nearly twice as likely to have ADHD.

"It's not a small effect," says Bouchard. "This is 100 percent more risk."

To isolate the effect of the pesticide exposure on ADHD symptoms, the researchers controlled for a variety of health and demographic factors that could have skewed the results.

Still, the study had some limitations and is not definitive, Bouchard says. Most notably, she and her colleagues measured only one urine sample for each child, and therefore weren't able to track whether the levels of pesticide byproducts were constant, or whether the association between exposure and ADHD changed over time.

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Long-term studies including multiple urine samples from the same children are needed, Bouchard says. She suspects such studies would show an even stronger link between pesticide byproducts and ADHD.

EPA spokesman Dale Kemery said in a statement that the agency routinely reviews the safety of all pesticides, including organophosphates. "We are currently developing a framework to incorporate data from studies similar to this one into our risk assessment," Kemery said. "We will look at this study and use the framework to decide how it fits into our overall risk assessment."

Kemery recommended that parents try other pest-control tactics before resorting to pesticide use in the home or garden. Washing and peeling fruits and vegetables and eating "a varied diet" will also help reduce potential exposure to pesticides, he said.

"I would hope that this study raises awareness as to the risk associated with pesticide exposure," Bouchard says. "There's really only a handful of studies on this subject out there, so there's room for more awareness."

Thank you for sharing this article. Important stuff for everyone to read.

My son was supposed to have this also, (or was treated for it in HIgh School anyway)and they felt it was the genetic breakdown of Diabetes...which my mother and all three of my aunts had by the time they got through their menopause for some reason(it's an hormonal/nerve thing)..it maybe of been from family alcholism several generations prior also...as mother's grandfather supposedly died of "gout" or edema, she said she could remember after he died his legs had swelled so much with water they literally "split open" before they were able to buryng him...and he
lived in an area(mid-west) not known for good water sometimes back then in the summer time...during the mid-1800's. We joined an support group for these type of people, ADHD...they have one nationwide and there are many people famous that have been smitten with it also...like gout it comes with the more sucessful/wealthy type of society. To name an few, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin FRanklin, Howard Hughs and
the list is an long one(Enstein) Don't let them tell you your kid has ADHD if the real problem is simply an "lazy teacher" that wants to put them on Ritlan also...check out the classroom and see how many other kids have been told thier kid is ADHD. There is an special "diet" these kids can eat that helps to eliminate much of it, I forget the name, something like "Gold"..or "Goldman" diet. Most the stuff they can't have is over the counter cold medicines, toothpaste, and things like cucumbers and an lot of processed/sugary type foods. My husband is an state liscensed Pesticide person...and we have never used pesticides much in our yard...and others don't if they are "smart" in agriculture, because they are costly...the "new" thing is cloned plants, and they make disease-free "perfect" specimen's...most your plants you buy are like that these days. Most your trees are like that an don't need "budded" for variety in the fields any more either. They can start with them in the labs and grow them, they are fairy good size before they even see outside "air"... where they set them outside to "harden" for the weather...
about two weeks and ship them out to retail nurseries to sell of finsih the growing phase...clonned plants yield three to four crops in the millions of plants per season off an possible handful of "Parent" stock...old time agriculture is not like it use to be...where they used an lot of pesticides...needed an lot of growig nroom to do that also. Diabetes is genetic..if affects every other generation until it is
lost by inter-marriage, or basically bred out...I happen to have found out later on, genetically..that my hubby and I are thought to been 5th cousins back from each other...which means at sometime his mother/father's side and my maternal mother's or her father's paternal side had the same parent...or my dad's side perhaps. Somewhere along the lines. Other then that, it's lousy teachers, and bad food/drink...which is quite common these days. Since my son was raised on an Weight Watcher's diet most his life until he married at age 20, KNowing my mother had diabetes type II..the doctor thinks and good lot of his problem was also lazy teachers. Here is what they told me about diabetes...it most often affects women
over men, because of the hormonal changes in child bearing, most often affects light skinned family memebers, most often affect the obese (though my mother was
never obese to my thinking)..at 5'7" she weighted in at 9 months pregnant 180 pounds. MOst these women had huge babies, my brother was an almost 11 pounder. My
sister was almost 10 pounds, I was born nearly pre-mature at 8 pounds. My great aunt never had this, an fair skinned natural blonde and she never had children
that she ever claimed anyway in her life...kept her weight down being an nurse also.
She would of been the next generation to my grandfather..and child of the guy in the 1800's...the generation it skipped. Don' tforget all the "festivals" and party time amoung most adults righ now involved "drinking" alcholic beverages of some kind. Pesticdes certainly don't help, and GMO's can be in some food stuff that might contribute to it. It' snto suppose to be in our food but it's in 91 per cent of the food stuff they feed our animals on, and its found in Corn, Soya, and canoloa oil in particular. Go to "coasttocoastam.com" for this week's earlier show on that and the guest in the "past shows" has an list if you go to his site for
foods with potential GMO's in them. (Genetically Modified seed products)