Photo Credit: Jeff Vanuga, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

A recent study out of the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley found that living near farms that use pesticides could impact children’s health.  The researchers looked at 283 mothers who lived in the agricultural Salinas Valley of California and compared pesticide use on farms within on km from their houses during pregnancy with cognition in their 7-year old children.  They found that the use of organophosphate pesticides was associated with decreased IQ scores and verbal comprehension.  They also found that pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, and manganese fungicides were associated with decreased IQ scores.  The authors conclude that there are “potential relationships between maternal residential proximity to agricultural use of neurotoxic pesticides and poorer neurodevelopment in children”.  This follows up on research showing that living hear farms that use pesticides can increase the risk of neural tube defects and autism.