{"id":36644,"date":"2024-10-15T00:01:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T04:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=36644"},"modified":"2024-10-10T16:24:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T20:24:27","slug":"study-finds-disproportionate-risk-of-respiratory-effects-in-latino-school-aged-children-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2024\/10\/study-finds-disproportionate-risk-of-respiratory-effects-in-latino-school-aged-children-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Finds Disproportionate Risk of Respiratory Effects in Latino School-Aged Children in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, October 15, 2024) In Environmental Epidemiology<\/em><\/a>, researchers from Columbia University and the University of Southern California, along with representatives from the nonprofit Comite Civico del Valle<\/a> in Brawley, California, report the heightened risk of wheezing for five- to twelve-year-olds in the rural communities of California\u2019s Imperial Valley. Through a school-based survey, the authors find associations between living near pesticide applications and more wheeze symptoms among the children.<\/p>\n

According to the authors, residents of the Imperial Valley, which is located near the border between the United States (U.S.) and Mexico, \u201care primarily Latino, 1 in 3 children live in poverty, and there is a 20% unemployment rate. The county faces poor air quality and excess particulate matter levels. Further, one in five children is diagnosed with asthma<\/a> and the rate of asthma-related pediatric emergency room visits and hospitalizations is two times the CA state average.\u201d This highlights the disproportionate risk<\/a> for residents in this area regarding environmental exposure to harmful chemicals.<\/p>\n

Children<\/a> are already more susceptible to health complications following pesticide exposure, as they take in greater amounts of toxic chemicals relative to their body weight and have still-developing organ systems. Young children in environments with higher levels of pesticide usage and pesticide drift<\/a> face an even greater threat, such as in the Imperial Valley. The authors note, \u201cIndustrial agriculture in the region results in one of the highest amounts of pesticide applications in the state, with Imperial County ranking in the top 12 (of 58 counties) since 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n

The purpose of this study, the authors share, is to \u201cassess the respiratory health impacts of pesticide usage in a rural, structurally marginalized population of school-aged children.\u201d This is of particular importance, as the respiratory health of children can lead to long-term consequences into adulthood<\/a>. The Assessing Imperial Valley Respiratory Health and the Environment <\/em>(AIRE) study was initiated as a result of the concern among residents and community organizations about cumulative effects and body burden<\/a> from the copious amounts of pesticides used in the Imperial Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this intensively farmed community, fields are planted and harvested several times a year. There are over 100 different types of crops cultivated and over 50 pesticides (differentiated by active ingredient) used in Imperial Valley amounting to over five million pounds of pesticides applied annually,\u201d the authors state. \u201cAs schools and homes are located in close proximity to agricultural fields, exposure to pesticides is of great concern.\u201d To address this, the AIRE study provides an analysis of pesticide usage from 2016-2020 within 400 meters (m) of the homes of over 700 children.<\/p>\n

Elementary school-aged children from five schools across five communities throughout the Imperial Valley were considered in the voluntary study. With a parent or guardian\u2019s consent, eligible students received questionnaires. These consisted of demographic and lifestyle questions, as well as an inquiry of respiratory symptoms based on questions adapted from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). After which, 708 children participated in the questionnaire and were enrolled in the AIRE study.<\/p>\n

In describing their methodology, the authors say, \u201cFor each child, we computed the total pesticides applied within a 400-m buffer distance of their home, using a reported address from the questionnaire, for the 12 months before the date of the baseline survey using the following pesticide groups: all pesticides, all pesticides except sulfur, sulfur<\/a> only, chlorpyrifos<\/a> only, and glyphosate<\/a> only.\u201d<\/p>\n

In choosing the 400 m buffer parameter, the authors consider that there are “(1) previous studies identifying an association between a 500-m buffer correlation with pesticides measured in homes located near agricultural fields and (2) a 2018 law<\/a> in California that limits the application of pesticides within 402 m (1\/4 mile) of schools.\u201d This provides 400 m as \u201ca buffer with both scientific and policy implications,\u201d the authors note. While this law recognizes concerns in California about children\u2019s exposure to pesticides, it is limited to contiguous areas around schools and does not consider the amount of residential exposure, especially in rural areas, that many children face.<\/p>\n

With information from the questionnaires, along with data from the California Pesticide Use Registry<\/a> in the areas surrounding the children’s homes, the authors are able to assess links between reported respiratory symptoms and pesticide exposure. The exposure levels for each child are categorized into one of three groupings: none, low, and high.<\/p>\n

Important statistics the authors share from the study results include:\u00a0<\/p>\n