Seven-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide

Abstract

Background: In a longitudinal birth cohort study of inner-city mothers and children (Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health), we have previously reported that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) was associated with neurodevelopmental problems at 3 years of age.Objective: The goal of the study was to estimate the relationship between prenatal CPF exposure and neurodevelopment among cohort children at 7 years of age.Methods: In a sample of 265 children, participants in a prospective study of air pollution, we measured prenatal CPF exposure using umbilical cord blood plasma (picograms/gram plasma) and 7-year neurodevelopment using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV). Linear regression models were used to estimate associations, with covariate selection based on two alternate approaches.Results: On average, for each standard deviation increase in CPF exposure (4.61 pg/g), Full-Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) declined by 1.4% and Working Memory declined by 2.8%. Final covariates included maternal educational level, maternal IQ, and quality of the home environment. We found no significant interactions between CPF and any covariates, including the other chemical exposures measured during the prenatal period (environmental tobacco smoke and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).Conclusions: We report evidence of deficits in Working Memory Index and Full-Scale IQ as a function of prenatal CPF exposure at 7 years of age. These findings are important in light of continued widespread use of CPF in agricultural settings and possible longer-term educational implications of early cognitive deficits.

Prenatal and infant exposure to ambient pesticides and autism spectrum disorder in children: population based case-control study

“…Although environmental exposure studies considering autism spectrum disorder are rare, organophosphates and pyrethroids have been related to neurodevelopmental and cognitive impairments in children in previous studies 576061. Decrements in IQ scores at age 7 have been associated with prenatal residential proximity to agricultural use of organophosphates and pyrethroids, acephate, chlorpyrifos, and diazinon,5 in line with our findings.…”

Prenatal nicotine changes the response to postnatal chlorpyrifos: Interactions targeting serotonergic synaptic function and cognition

“…Chlorpyrifos was then given to pups daily on postnatal days (PN) 1–4 at 1 mg/kg, a regimen that produces just-detectable inhibition of brain cholinesterase and that disrupts neurobehavioral development, but that is not systemically toxic (Slotkin, 1999, 2004, 2005; Song et al, 1997). This exposure model successfully predicts both the neurobehavioral deficits and abnormalities of brain structure seen in children exposed prenatally to chlorpyrifos (Bouchard et al, 2011; Engel et al, 2011; Rauh et al, 2006, 2011, 2012). Our study thus encompassed four treatment groups: control, nicotine alone, chlorpyrifos alone, and nicotine followed by chlorpyrifos.…”

Purpureocillium lilacinum, potential agent for biological control of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex lundii

“…Currently, chemical methods are used to control them, with products primarily based on sulfluramid and fipronil (Boaretto and Forti, 1997;De Coll and Ribero, 2003;Montoya-Lerma et al, 2012). However, these methods are highly inefficient for social organisms such as ants (Cherret, 1986;Della Lucia et al, 2013), and their deleterious effects to the ecosystems (Gunasekara et al, 2007;Houde et al, 2006) and to human health (Rauh et al, 2011;Tingle et al, 2003) are well documented. Biological control is an environmentally acceptable strategy that would reduce the number of these ants below the economic damage threshold.…”