Prenatal and postnatal exposure to pesticides and school-age children’s cognitive ability in rural Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

Colombia is one of the largest pesticide consumers in South America. These products have a variety of negative consequences on the health of rural populations, especially neurocognitive disorders in children. In this work, the prenatal and postnatal exposure to pesticides was evaluated and the association between the cognitive capacity of school-age children in rural areas of the city of Bogotá, Colombia, investigated. Separate multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate associations of pesticide exposure measures and WISC-IV scales, adjusted for child sex, maternal educational attainment, growth retardation, and effect modification explored by sex, using a cross products term of 232 children between the ages of 7 and 10. It was found that among all children, pesticide exposure at school was associated with a worse working memory index (ß = −3.40; 95%CI; −6.6; −0.2) and a worst verbal comprehension index (ß = −3.2; 95%CI; −6.5; −0.2). Among girls, pesticide use at home was associated with a worse processing speed index (ß = −5.1; 95% CI; −10.1; −0.20) but not among boys (ß = 1.73; 95% CI; −2.6; 6.9). This revealed an association between the prenatal and postnatal exposure reported and some IQ sub-indices of children aged between 7 and 10 years residing in the rural areas of Usme and Sumapaz in the city of Bogotá, Colombia.