A new study has found that children in New York City who were exposed to the insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) before birth show changes in their brain structure and weaker motor skills as they grow up.
These effects were still visible years after the children were born, suggesting that exposure to this chemical during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on a child’s development.
The study was done by researchers from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
It is the first study to show detailed changes in the human brain that are directly linked to exposure to CPF during pregnancy. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
To carry out the study, researchers followed 270 children who were part of a long-term birth study called the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health.
These children were born to Latino and African-American mothers living in New York City. All of them had detectable levels of chlorpyrifos in the blood from their umbilical cords at birth, which means they were exposed to the chemical while still in the womb.
When the children were between the ages of 6 and 14, they received brain scans and completed tests that measured how quickly and accurately they could move and coordinate their movements.
The results showed that children with higher levels of CPF in their system had more obvious changes in brain structure and function. They also had slower motor skills and more difficulty with coordination.
The main source of exposure for these children was from pesticides used indoors. Although chlorpyrifos was banned for use inside homes in the U.S. back in 2001, it is still used today in farming for growing non-organic fruits, vegetables, and grains.
This means that people living near farms, including pregnant women and children, can still be exposed through the air or dust in those areas.
Dr. Virginia Rauh, a senior author of the study, warned that this exposure remains a serious risk. She said that pregnant women in farming communities are especially at risk and that their babies could be harmed by the same levels of exposure found in this study.
She called for better monitoring and efforts to reduce exposure to harmful pesticides during pregnancy.
Dr. Bradley Peterson, the lead author of the study, explained that the brain damage they observed was not limited to one area. The effects were spread throughout the brain and included changes in brain metabolism.
He added that other similar pesticides might have the same effect, which is why it’s important to avoid them during pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood—times when the brain is growing quickly and is more sensitive to harmful chemicals.
The study team included many scientists from different institutions. From Columbia University, contributors included Howard Andrews, Wanda Garcia, and Frederica Perera.
From Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the team included Sahar Delavari, Ravi Bansal, Siddhant Sawardekar, and Chaitanya Gupte. Lori A. Hoepner from SUNY Downstate School of Public Health also took part in the research.
This research highlights the importance of protecting pregnant women and children from toxic chemicals in the environment. Even chemicals that are no longer used in homes may still pose a risk because of their use in agriculture.
Reducing these exposures could help protect children’s brain development and improve their health outcomes later in life.
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The study is published in JAMA Neurology.
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