A commonly used pesticide, also present in products for the home environment, would be able to triple the risk of ADHD (Attention Deficit Syndrome) in children and teens. Symptoms of the disease, in particular hyperactivity and impulsivity, would be linked at least in part to exposure to pyrethroid pesticides
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A commonly used pesticide, also present in products for the home environment, would be able to triple the risk of ADHD (Attention Deficit Syndrome) in children and adolescents. Symptoms of the disease, in particular hyperactivity e impulsiveness, would be linked at least in part to exposure to pyrethroid pesticides.
The problem would concern some common insecticides and insect repellents. The correlation, according to experts from the children's hospital of Cincinnati, it would be stronger in males than in females.
The study in question was conducted by the pediatrician Ask Froehlich, which is concerned about the widespread use of pyrethroid pesticides with the perception that they are safe for health. In the US, the authorities have banned the two organophosphate pesticides most commonly used for residential use in 2002, after concerns about negative health consequences.
The ban has led to a greater use of pyrethroid pesticides, which are now the most used in the US. Pyrethroids were chosen because they do not exhibit acute toxicity like the already banned organophosphates. But now the researchers suggest that there may be an association between increased risk of hyperactivity and impulsivity and exposure to pyrethroids.
The researchers studied the data related to 687 children between the ages of 8 and 15 within the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Pesticide exposure was detected in the urine samples of the subjects evaluated. Boys with a relevant presence of pyrethroids (3-PBA) in urine were three times more at risk for ADHD than those with no detectable traces of the pesticide.
According to the doctor Ask Froehlich, they will be further studies needed to confirm with certainty that the use of pyrethroids as pesticides and insecticides can have negative consequences on public health, with particular reference to the increased risk of ADHD.
The study was published in the scientific journal Environmental Health.
Marta Albè
Photo source: onsugar.com
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