Pesticide exposure among children increases their risk of lung damage. Early exposure of children to a wide array of chemicals used as pesticides in farming is as bad as secondhand smoke, a new study warns.

In the longitudinal study of 279 children who have decreased lung function in farming families living in Salinas Valley, California, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley tested for organophosphate pesticide metabolites, urinary diethyl and dimethyl dialkylphosphate in their urine for five times from 6 months old to 5 years old.

These children were followed since birth after the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) conducted a survey on 601 pregnant women 15 years ago. When these children reached 7 years old, spirometry, a method to measure lung function, was conducted.

The researchers found that each tenfold increase in levels of organophosphate urinary metabolites was linked to a 159-millimeter decrease in lung function, which is around 8 percent less air.

Organophosphate pesticides are widely used in agriculture in the United States. Acute exposure to this compound is highly toxic. In fact, during acute exposure, clinical signs like hypotension, low pulse rate, seizures, anxiety and coma could manifest.

The study was not able to tackle why these children were exposed to pesticides. However, they recommend that farmers remove the clothes they used when farming before going inside the house, keep the kids away from the fields when spraying pesticides, and close windows. They should also throughly wash food before consumption.

"This study adds exposure to organophosphate pesticides to the growing list of environmental exposures — including air pollution, indoor cook stove smoke and environmental tobacco smoke — that could be harmful to the developing lungs of children," Rachel Raanan, co-author of the study, said.

She added that since the pesticides are still used in many countries around the globe, their findings need further attention.

Another author, Dr. John Balmes, a professor of environmental health sciences from UC Berkeley, said that reduced lung function may increase the risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and it is vital to reduce environmental exposure especially in children. COPD is an increasing cause of death globally.

The study was published in the journal Thorax on Dec. 3.

Photo : David Williams | Flickr