HEALTH
It is widely known that when pregnant women are exposed to very low levels of organophosphate pesticides, the development of the IQ becomes difficult for their children. This exposure to pesticides makes them susceptible to learning difficulties and a variety of grave diseases such as Cancer.
Editorial Staff
Pesticides and insecticides were introduced in the agricultural market in order to facilitate agricultural production and improve crop produce, but the harmful effects of pesticides and insecticides on human health, environment and the soil was realised recently.
We know that the consumption of agricultural produce grown with the help of insecticides and pesticides, affects the health of the consumer. It is now also documented, through studies conducted in 1990s that the parental occupational exposure to pesticides leads to brain cancer among children. The class of pesticides which affects the child’s health is limited and the studies have been suggestive and not conclusive in nature, but still it does point towards an important fact. A literature search of the studies conducted between 1984 to 2003 on the same issue suggested an increasing risk of different types of cancer in the child if his/her parents were exposed to farming or pesticide use at work.
In a study on “Parental Occupational Exposure to Pesticides and Childhood Brain Cancer” by Youn K. Shim, Steven. Mlynarek, and Edwin. Van Wijngaarden, at the University of Rachester Medical Centre, it was concluded that the parental occupational exposure to pesticide increased the risk of Astrocytoma in off springs.
Astrocytoma is a kind cancer that affects the brain cells of the person whether young or adult, it mainly occurs in any part of the brain especially in the spinal cord region, the low grade type of astrocytoma is found in children and young adults commonly. Despite being a common kind of cancer scientist have still not discovered any kind of curative intervention to treat this disease, with high chances of getting recurred the only method is of palliative care that helps the patient.
