A new study suggests exposure to residues persisting in the environment from pesticides banned fifty years ago is associated with autism. The new study provides the first biomarker-based evidence in humans that maternal exposure to DDT residues in the food chain may increase the risk of autism in their children. DDTs (organochlorines) were widely banned as pesticides from the late 1970s, but residues persist in the food chain. These persistent organic pollutants can be transferred from the mother across the placenta to the fetus, resulting in fetal blood concentrations ranging from 30% to 50% of levels found in maternal blood. The investigation , published online in the American Journal of Psychiatry, was derived from the Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism, a large national birth cohort with maternal serum specimens from early pregnancy tested for levels of the organochlorine DDT (dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane) and its metabolite DDE (dichlo...
A journey of discovery of what makes us who we are and the choices we make through topical issues.