ArticleChemosphere2022
In-utero exposure to DDT and pyrethroids and child behavioral and emotional problems at 2 years of age in the VHEMBE cohort, South Africa.
Article in Chemosphere, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the combined impact of pesticide exposure and HIV/ART on child neurodevelopment in Eastern and Southern Africa: a systematic review.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Indoor Residual Spraying on Malaria in Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Review.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Pooled it
- Pesticides and neurodevelopment of children in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Maternal exposure to pesticides and autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders in offspring: A meta-analysis.Chemosphere · 2023Pooled it
- Kids These Days! A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Changes in Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Population-Based Samples Over the Past Decades.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Review
- Residential proximity to agricultural pesticide exposures during preconception and pregnancy and associations with Apgar scores in the Az-PEAR study (2006-2020).Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Endocrine Disrupting Agents: Toxicological Aspects on Male Reproduction.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025Review
- A preliminary estimate of the environmental burden of disease associated with exposure to pyrethroid insecticides and ADHD in Europe based on human biomonitoring.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2024Article
- Prenatal current-use pesticide exposure and children's neurodevelopment at one year of age in the Infants' Environmental Health (ISA) birth cohort, Costa Rica.Environmental research · 2024Article
- Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: A Comprehensive Review of Natural Occurring Compounds and Their Synthetic Derivatives.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHalf the world's population is at risk for malaria. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides has been effective in controlling malaria, yet the potential neurotoxicity of these insecticides is of concern, particularly for infants exposed in utero.
objectivesTo determine the association of prenatal exposure to DDT/DDE and pyrethroid insecticides and behavioral/emotional problems in two-year-old children.
methodsThe Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment (VHEMBE) birth cohort in South Africa, measured concentrations of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE in maternal serum and pyrethroid metabolites (cis-DBCA, cis-DCCA, trans-DCCA, and 3-PBA) in maternal urine collected during pregnancy. At 2 years, 683 mothers were interviewed about their children's behavior and emotional development, using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We examined associations between behavioral or emotional problems and biomarkers of prenatal insecticide exposure.
resultsMaternal serum p,p'-DDT concentrations were associated with heightened withdrawn behavior in 2-year olds, with a 0.24 increase in raw scores (95%CI = 0.00, 0.49) and a 12% increase (95%CI = 1.01, 1.23) in risk of being at or above the borderline-clinical level, per 10-fold increase in concentrations. Ten-fold increases in p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE were related to 30% (RR = 1.30; 95%CI = 1.01, 1.67) and 39% (RR = 1.39; 95%CI =1.01, 1.91) higher risks, respectively, for increased oppositional-defiant behavior. p,p'-DDE concentrations were also related to increased risk of ADHD-related problems (RR = 1.30; 95%CI = 0.98, 1.72). Maternal urinary concentrations of cis-DBCA and 3-PBA were associated with increased risk of externalizing behaviors (RR = 1.30; 95%CI = 1.05, 1.62; RR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.03, 1.78 per 10-fold increase, respectively), with some evidence of an association between cis-DBCA and affective disorders (RR = 1.25; 95%CI = 0.99, 1.56). Some associations with maternal pyrethroid concentrations were stronger in girls than boys.
conclusionsPrenatal exposure to DDT and pyrethroid insecticides may be associated with maternally-reported behavioral problems in two-year-old children. Given their long history and continued use, further investigation is warranted.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.