Importance of Considering Non-Chemical Stressors in Interpreting Pesticide Exposures in Children

摘要

Children are exposed to chemical and non-chemical stressors from their total environment, which is comprised of the built, natural, and social environments from places where they spend their time, including home, school, and daycare. Evidence in the literature suggests that the interrelationships between chemical and non-chemical stressors impact their health and well-being in ways that are different from exposure to a single stressor. Our objective was to explore the pesticide literature and evaluate the importance of non-chemical stressors in interpreting young children's exposures to pesticides and neurocognitive health. We identified publications containing pesticide data, information on non-chemical stressors, and children's neurocognitive health. We mined the literature, extracted relevant information, created a database, and conducted statistical analyses. We organized the information into stressors from the built, natural, and social environments. Various pesticides (e.g., mirex, chlorpyrifos, DDT) or pesticide metabolites (e.g., dialkyl phosphates) have been studied to understand the relationship between exposure and children's neurocognitive health. Our preliminary results showed inconsistent associations between pesticide exposure and children's neurocognitive health, suggesting that chemical exposures alone may not always be able to explain observed health effects. The complexities of multiple stressors suggest that the interrelationships between chemical and non-chemical stressors should be incorporated into studying children's neurocognitive health.