A study performed by the University of California at Davis has found a correlation between exposure to pesticides and autism.
The author of the report suggests that families near agricultural fields being sprayed get their children out of town. The study also found that pregnant women after the first trimester had an increased risk of their infant becoming autistic with the exposure closer to the due date being the most harmful to the fetus.
Organophosphates were the culprit identified. Developed by the Nazis in the 1940's these pesticides have a host of deadly and debilitating consequences when humans(and other critters) are exposed.
Organophosphates kill because they interfere with the nervous system of both insects and humans. They inhibit an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase. Under normal conditions, acetylcholinesterase sends chemical signals to halt nerve impulses at appropriate times. When the acetylcholinesterase enzyme is disturbed, neurological overstimulation occurs, leading to nervous system dysfunction, causing seizures and death.
Acute exposure can be observed through symptoms of nausea, twitching, headaches and trembling. Most people die because of an inability to breathe. The diaphragm goes into paralysis, convulsions overtake and death ensues.
Long term exposure to these insecticides produces developmental effects including behavioral problems and receding cognitive function, most notably attention deficit.
Not only do organophosphates disrupt the neurons in the body, but they also wreak havoc on the endocrine system. In time, exposure to these chemicals reduces testosterone levels, eliciting femininity in males. Male fertility may be destroyed altogether.
Using the pesticide data maps, researchers overlaid addresses of about 1,000 participants in a Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment study — a population-based, case-control study of children ages 2-5 with autism, developmental delay and typical development. The study area primarily was within a two-hour drive of Sacramento.
About one-third of the mothers in the study lived within 1.5 kilometers — just under a mile — of an agricultural pesticide application when they were pregnant, the researchers said.
The risk of autism decreased the farther the pregnant women lived from where pesticides were sprayed, the report said.
The research included four classes of pesticides: organophosphates, organochlorines, pyrethroids and carbamates. The pesticides are used on a variety of crops in the Valley, such as cantaloupe, melon, oranges, tomato processing, cotton and alfalfa.
About 1.7 million pounds of the pesticides were applied in Fresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare and Merced counties in 2012, the latest data available, said Charlotte Fadipe, a spokeswoman at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
Another reason to enjoy organic produce.