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http://www.center4research.org/childnews1.html#leukemia
Pesticides May Cause Leukemia
The potential risks of using bug sprays and other pesticides has come under scrutiny in recent years, as schools, residential treatment facilities, and recreational programs struggle to get rid of insects, keep weeds under control, and keep children safe. A new study by public health faculty at the University of California, Berkeley supports previous findings that pesticides can increase the risk of childhood leukemia.
The study compared 162 children (ages 0-14) who were newly diagnosed with leukemia to 162 healthy children of the same age, sex, race/ethnicity, and mother's county of residence when the child was born. All the children lived in California.
Pesticide exposure was measured by interviewing the primary caregiver (usually the mother), asking for detailed information on household pesticide use, including the name of the product, purpose, and frequency of use at three different points in time (3 months before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and during years 1, 2, or 3).
Pesticides were categorized as either professional pest control services; insect repellents; products used to control ants, flies, cockroaches, spiders, termites, and plant insects; professional lawn services or other weed control; or flea control products.
Many of the children were exposed to pesticides, About 40 percent used pesticides for ants, flies, or cockroaches, whereas few used them to control spiders or termites. Most used insecticides or indoor pesticides during the child's first year.
The use of professional pest control during any of the time periods (prenatal or first three years) was usually at least twice as high for families whose children had leukemia compared to families of healthy children. Overall, children with leukemia were almost three times as likely to be exposed at one of those points compared to healthy children. Exposure to insecticides was about twice as high among children with leukemia as healthy children. Exposure to indoor pesticides was also almost twice as high for children with leukemia, but this was due to differences in prenatal exposure and exposure during the first year, not at age 2 or 3. In contrast, exposure to flea products (usually for pets) or herbicides was not significantly higher for children with leukemia compared to healthy children. Exposure to outdoor pesticides was slightly but not significantly higher for children with leukemia.
Generally, leukemia was more strongly linked to prenatal pesticide exposure, but the link to exposure during the first three years of life was still statistically significant, which means it is probably a real risk, and did not occur by chance.
The study strongly suggests that pesticides can harm a fetus or young child, causing a serious disease such as childhood leukemia. The impact of pesticides on older children was not studied, but is likely to be less dangerous since exposure seemed less important as the baby grew to age three. In addition, other health risks, such as neurological problems, were not evaluated in this study, but have raised concerns about the exposure of older children and adults, since many of these products kill insects by destroying their nervous system.
The implications of this research for parents and adults who work with children is to keep bug sprays and other pesticides to a minimum, especially indoors. Although professional services were more strongly linked to leukemia than pesticides bought at the store, this could be either because of the greater quantity of chemicals used by professionals, or the fact that professional pest control services are more likely to be used for greater insect problems that may have necessitated a considerable use of pesticides even before the professionals arrived.
Reference:
Critical Windows of Exposure to Household Pesticides and Risk of Childhood Leukemia
Xiaomei Ma, Patricia Buffler, Robert Gunioer, and colleagues
Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol 110, No. 9, September 2002
Available free at http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/members/2002/110p995-960ma/ma-full.html
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