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Residential pesticide exposure may increase risk for pediatric blood cancers
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Exposure to indoor insecticides may increase the risk for childhood hematologic malignancies, according to the results of a meta-analysis.
“Although pesticides are essential for eradication of pests in agriculture and for public health, they are toxic chemicals and can affect children’s health in a variety of settings, such as at home, in parks and gardens, and on school grounds,”Chensheng Lu, PhD, MS, associate professor of environmental exposure biology at Harvard University’s T.C. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote. “Children greatly increase their chances of pesticide exposure when they play on pesticide-treated surfaces such as a floor or a lawn and then put their hands into their mouths.”
Lu and colleagues sought to evaluate associations between residential childhood pesticide exposures and childhood cancers. They conducted a meta-analysis by searching PubMed for all observational studies published prior to February 2014 and then reviewing reference sections of articles derived from their searches.
The initial literature review yielded 277 studies that met inclusion criteria, from which the researchers selected 16 studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis.
Childhood exposure to indoor — but not outdoor — residential insecticides corresponded with a significant increase in the risk for childhood leukemia (OR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.26-1.72) and lymphomas (OR = 1.43; 95% CI, 1.15-1.78).
Further, exposure to herbicide significantly increased the risk for leukemia (OR = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.1-1.44).
In an analysis that included all types of childhood cancers — including neuroblastoma and Wilms’ tumor — exposure to residential herbicides appeared to significantly increase the risk for these cancers (OR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.16-1.55).
The researchers observed a positive association between home pesticide (OR = 1.11; 95% CI, 0.87–1.42) or herbicide exposure (OR = 1.98; 95% CI, 0.94-4.14) and childhood brain tumors; however, the associations did not reach statistical significance.
The researchers acknowledged the small number of studies included in the final analysis as a study limitation.
“Public health policies should be developed to minimize childhood exposure to pesticides in the home,” Lu and colleagues wrote. “Parents, school and daycare teachers, and health care providers can learn about common pesticides types and labeling information and can stay aware of the short- and long-term effects of these chemicals. Every effort should be made to limit children’s exposure to pesticides.” – by Cameron Kelsall
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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