UC San Diego

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 100 m 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 446 m (344). Living 100 m 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 50 m, 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 500 m. 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.