Pesticides Linked to Autism
Today
The Oprah Winfrey Show re-aired The Faces of Autism, which originally showed back in April. The talk show host and media mogul reported that the CDC has classified autism as a national health threat affecting 1 in every 150 children.
While Oprah’s expert reported that autism is mainly caused by a genetic disposition, a report earlier this week suggests environmental factors may play also play a role.
The California Department of Public Health conducted a study whose results indicate that women who live near agriculture fields sprayed with organocholrine pesticides have an increased risk for producing autistic children.
The results came from research conducted by state scientists who studied birth records and pesticide data for California’s Central Valley. Eight women who lived within 550 yards of sprayed fields during their first trimester had autistic children. Marla Cone, L.A Times Staff Writer reported that, “their rate of autism was six times greater than for mothers who did not live near the fields...”
This is one of the first studies to show a direct link between environmental toxins and autism. In 2005 scientists in Italy discovered a link between organophosphate and the neurological disorder. Dr. Mark Horton, director of the state Department of Public Health stresses that this is still “exploratory research.” The pesticides are not commonly found in domestic homes or yards. Cone explained, “[t]he chemicals are used most extensively in Fresno, Kings, Imperial and Tulare counties…on cotton, oranges, beans and walnuts…and on lettuce, alfalfa and cotton crops.”