Docs: Toxins hurt kids conceived in June-August

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2007/05/07/2007-05-07_docs_toxins_hurt_kids_conceived_in_junea.html

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BY JORDAN LITE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, May 7th 2007, 4:00 AM

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Playing Bach  for your fetus? Better yet, time its conception to the
harvest cycle.

Children conceived in June, July and August, when pesticide spraying
is at its peak, scored lower on achievement tests than other kids,
according to a study presented yesterday at the annual meeting of the
Pediatric Academic Societies in Toronto.

"Scores are lowest in the months when pesticides and nitrate levels
are higher. They have not occurred in isolation of each other," said
Dr. Paul Winchester, who based his findings on nearly 1.7 million
students in grades 3 to 10 who took a standardized test given in Indiana.

Pregnant women with elevated pesticide levels in their blood also
tend to have lower amounts of thyroid hormone. That hormone is
thought to affect fetal brain development in the first trimester of
pregnancy - the time closest to conception, Winchester said.

Spraying patterns are also associated with premature birth,
Winchester found in an analysis of the more than 27 million U.S.
births in 1996-2002.

The rate of prematurity was nearly 12% in May and June, when there
was the highest concentration of pesticides and nitrates in surface water.

The rate was just over 10% in August and September, when there was
the least amount of those chemicals, Winchester reported at the meeting.

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