Could pesticide methods be blamed for the rise of autism in children?

An alarming study has revealed that children that live in areas where pesticides are used to combat mosquitoes are more likely to develop autism.

The study that is waiting to be peer-reviewed and published, involved researchers investigating swamp areas in New York where the pyrethroid pesticides are sprayed each summer using airplanes. This is to combat the huge mosquito population that carry the eastern equine encephalitis virus known to affect the brain and spinal cord, according to Science Daily.

However, the researchers found that since 2003, there has been a 25 percent rise in the amount of children being born with autism or delayed development where the pesticides have been distributed from above with the use of planes. This was compared to areas where the same pesticides were used but through different means of distribution such as hoses and controlled applicators.

Steven Hicks, MD PhD who is a pediatrician at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and led the study, says that it’s not the pesticides that are the problem as you would assume but the methods in which it’s used on the crops.

“Other studies have already shown that pesticide exposure might increase a child’s risk for autism spectrum disorder or developmental delay. Our findings show that the way pesticides are distributed may change that risk. Preventing mosquito-borne encephalitis is an important task for public health departments,” says Hicks. “Communities that have pesticide programs to help control the mosquito population might consider ways to reduce child pesticide exposure, including alternative application methods.”

The team say that more research needs to be conducted to find out if this is the case as their study does not prove that plane distribution is the real cause or whether children are being exposed during pregnancy or after birth.

The rise in combating mosquitoes is evermore important with the threat of the Zika virus becoming prevalent in the U.S so the study is not able to change the way in which these pesticides are used but Hicks and his team says that precautions should be made.

“In the meantime communities should continue to warn residents to stay indoors, cover gardens and cover children’s play equipment during periods of spraying, which most already do. It would be important to know what percentage of residents are actually receiving and following these recommendations from their local department of health.”