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Residential proximity to greenhouse agriculture and neurobehavioral performance in Ecuadorian children
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October 10 2019
Source: Int J Hyg Environ Health. 223(1):220-227
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Details:
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Alternative Title:Int J Hyg Environ Health
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Personal Author:
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Description:Background:
Children living near greenhouse agriculture may have an increased risk of pesticide exposure due to drift or direct contact with pesticide-treated areas. However, little is known about whether this increased potential for chronic exposure may impair their neurodevelopment.
Methods:
We examined 307 children aged 4-9 years, living in agricultural communities in Ecuador (ESPINA study). The two exposures calculated were residential distance from the nearest flower plantation perimeter and flower plantation surface area within 100m of homes. Five neurobehavioral domains were assessed: Attention/Inhibitory Control, Memory/Learning, Visuospatial processing and Sensorimotor (higher values reflect better performance). Low scores were defined according to the test’s cut-offs. Models were adjusted for demographic, socio-economic and growth variables.
Results:
The mean (SD) residential distance to the nearest flower plantation was 446m (344). Living 100m closer to crops was associated with increased odds (OR [95% CI]) of low scores in the domains of Memory/Learning (1.24 [1.05, 1.46]) and Language (1.09 [1.00, 1.19]). Associations were strongest among children living within 50m, having significantly lower scores in Language (−1.28 which is ~50% of a SD [−2.50, −0.06]), Attention/Inhibitory Control (−1.24 units, [−2.45, −0.04]), and Memory/Learning (−0.91, [−1.99, 0.17]), compared to children living farther than 500m. Analyses of areas of flower crops near homes concurred with these findings.
Conclusions:
Close residential proximity to greenhouse floricultural crops was associated with adverse neurobehavioral performance in Attention/Inhibitory Control, Language and Memory/Learning among children. This highlights the importance of reducing pesticide drift from plantations to nearby homes.
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Subject:
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Pubmed ID:31607631
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC6915969
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