Children exposed to pesticides at home might be more likely to develop childhood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, according to a new study.
Researchers behind the new study, an analysis published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, examined 16 studies probing the possibility of a connection between residential pesticide exposure and childhood cancers.
Of the children examined in their analysis of the various studies, the researchers found that the kids who had been exposed to indoor insecticides were 43 percent more likely to be diagnosed during their adolescence with lymphoma and 47 percent more likely to be diagnosed with childhood leukemia.
Study author Chensheng Lu, PhD, MS, an associate professor of environmental exposure biology at Boston’s Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Live Science that parents should, for the sake of the sake of their children’s health, avoid using pesticides within the vicinity of their kids and the areas in which they spend significant amounts of time.
Lu, who led the study, also noted that it’s worth remembering “pesticides are designed and manufactured to kill organisms,” Live Science reported.
Remember that pesticides are designed and manufactured to kill organisms
According to Lu, it’s difficult to say this soon whether exposure to pesticides is undoubtedly a risk factor for children in the development of childhood leukemia and lymphoma, however, the analysis confirms that pesticides might play a role, “possibly a significant” one in the development of these types of childhood cancers, CNN reported.
(This analysis) is confirming that pesticides may play a role, possibly a significant role, in the development of childhood leukemia and lymphoma
While it might be too soon to distinguish an unquestionable link between pesticide exposure and an increased risk of childhood cancers, Dr. Catherine J. Karr, a professor of pediatrics and the director of the University of Washington’s Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, claims that there’s even stronger evidence of a link between such chemicals and neurological repercussions including lower IQ and ADHD.
