Another recent refereed scientific article, (if you are unfamilar with
the structure of scientific abstracts, please look at both the introductory
sentence and the final conclusion sentences, also note the affiliation of
the authors, I have also provided the link to the journal web page
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/
Abstracts are a very important part of a publication as that is all
most scientists will ever read. Thus, the authors, referees, and editor
make every effort to make sure that it accurately reflects what is in the
paper.
Authors: Garry VF, Harkins ME, Erickson LL, Long-Simpson LK, Holland
SE, Burroughs BL.
Affiliation: Environmental Medicine and Pathology Laboratory, 1st
Floor Stone Laboratory 1, University of Minnesota, 421 29th Avenue SE,
Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA.
Published in: Environ Health Perspect ;110 Suppl 3
ages 441-9,(2002
Jun).
Title: Birth defects, season of conception, and sex of children born
to pesticide applicators living in the Red River Valley of Minnesota, USA.
Abstract: "We previously demonstrated that the frequency of birth
defects among children of residents of the Red River Valley (RRV),
Minnesota, USA, was significantly higher than in other major agricultural
regions of the state during the years 1989-1991, with children born to male
pesticide applicators having the highest risk. The present, smaller
cross-sectional study of 695 families and 1,532 children, conducted during
1997-1998, provides a more detailed examination of reproductive health
outcomes in farm families ascertained from parent-reported birth defects. In
the present study, in the first year of life, the birth defect rate was 31.3
births per 1,000, with 83% of the total reported birth defects confirmed by
medical records. Inclusion of children identified with birth or
developmental disorders within the first 3 years of life and later led to a
rate of 47.0 per 1,000 (72 children from 1,532 live births). Conceptions in
spring resulted in significantly more children with birth defects than found
in any other season (7.6 vs. 3.7%). Twelve families had more than one child
with a birth defect (n = 28 children). Forty-two percent of the children
from families with recurrent birth defects were conceived in spring, a
significantly higher rate than that for any other season. Three families in
the kinships defined contributed a first-degree relative other than a
sibling with the same or similar birth defect, consistent with a Mendelian
inheritance pattern. The remaining nine families did not follow a Mendelian
inheritance pattern. The sex ratio of children with birth defects born to
applicator families shows a male predominance (1.75 to 1) across specific
pesticide class use and exposure categories exclusive of fungicides. In the
fungicide exposure category, normal female births significantly exceed male
births (1.25 to 1). Similarly, the proportion of male to female children
with birth defects is significantly lower (0.57 to 1; p = 0.02). Adverse
neurologic and neurobehavioral developmental effects clustered among the
children born to applicators of the fumigant phosphine (odds ratio [OR] =
2.48; confidence interval [CI], 1.2-5.1). Use of the herbicide glyphosate
yielded an OR of 3.6 (CI, 1.3-9.6) in the neurobehavioral category. Finally,
these studies point out that (a) herbicides applied in the spring may be a
factor in the birth defects observed and (b) fungicides can be a significant
factor in the determination of sex of the children of the families of the
RRV. Thus, two distinct classes of pesticides seem to have adverse effects
on different reproductive outcomes. Biologically based confirmatory studies
are needed."
--
Henry Kuska, retired
http://home.neo.rr.com/kuska/