Study Is the First to Link Pesticides and Death in Kids
A new study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is the first to show that prenatal exposure to pesticides increases the risk of death in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Published in Cancers, the research examined over 800 children and found that:
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Exposure to any pesticide during pregnancy increased the risk of death by 60%.
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Exposure to rodenticides raised the risk by 91%.
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92% of children were exposed to at least one type of pesticide before or after birth, highlighting how widespread these chemicals are.
“Exposures in the home environment, even before a child is born, may have lasting effects on survival after a leukemia diagnosis,” said Dr. Lena Winestone, pediatric hematologist-oncologist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and co-author of the study.
The study also found that children from low-income families, black children, and those diagnosed before age one had the highest death rates, while breastfeeding appeared protective.
The findings emphasize the critical role of environmental exposures alongside medical care in childhood cancer outcomes. Canadian families are encouraged to reduce pesticide exposure at home whenever possible.
Source: University of California, San Francisco, Cancers.“Study is the first to link pesticides and death in kids”
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