Chlorpyrifos and other pesticide exposure and suspected developmental delay in children aged under 5 years: a case-control study in Phitsanulok, Thailand

Abstract

Background: Developmental delay among children under 5 years of age is a serious global public health problem and much research has been carried out to find potential causes. Pesticides - especially organophosphates - are suspected to be one of the main causes of the problem.  This study aimed to investigate the association between pesticide use by the mother during pregnancy and preschool children development using a case-control study. Methods: Data on prenatal and postnatal pesticide exposure of 442 children with suspected developmental delay, and 413 controls with normal development were included for analysis. The children were matched for gender, age, and residency. Data on pesticide exposure were collected via interview with the mother, and data on pregnancy outcomes abstracted from hospital records.   Results: Chlorpyrifos exposure significantly increased the risk of developmental delay with an odds ratio (OR) of 3.71 (95% CI 1.03-13.36) for ever use of the pesticide, and an OR of 5.92 (95% CI 1.01-34.68) for postnatal exposure (p <0.05). Some other pesticides also had a positive association with developmental delay but none were statistically significant (p <0.05). Those pesticides were insecticide, fungicide, herbicide, and molluscicide. Individual pesticides with a positive association were glyphosate, paraquat, butachlor, methyl parathion (pholidon), savin, methomyl, endosulfan, carbosulfan, methamidophos, monochrotofos, mancozeb, and bordeaumixture. Conclusions: This case-control study found that chlorpyrifos and some other pesticides exposure during pregnancy were positively associated with developmental delay in children aged under 5 years. Further research should be conducted to better understand this potential effects of pesticides on child neurodevelopment, and the public - especially those who plan to have families - should be informed.