Guillette E A, Meza M M, Aquilar M G, Soto A D, Garcia I E
Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Jun;106(6):347-53. doi: 10.1289/ehp.98106347.
In this comparative study, we compensated for many of the known variables that influence children's growth and development by selecting two groups of 4-5-year-old Yaqui children who reside in the Yaqui Valley of northwestern Mexico. These children share similar genetic backgrounds, diets, water mineral contents, cultural patterns, and social behaviors. The major difference was their exposure to pesticides. Pesticides have been applied to the agricultural area of the valley since the late 1940s. In 1990, high levels of multiple pesticides were found in the cord blood of newborns and in breast milk. Building on anthropological methods for rapid rural appraisal of problems within the environment, a Rapid Assessment Tool for Preschool Children (RATPC) was developed to measure growth and development. The children of the agrarian region were compared to children living in the foothills, where pesticide use is avoided. The RATPC measured varied aspects of physical growth and abilities to perform, or function in, normal childhood activities. No differences were found in growth patterns. Functionally, the exposed children demonstrated decreases in stamina, gross and fine eye-hand coordination, 30-minute memory, and the ability to draw a person. The RATPC also pointed out areas in which more in-depth research on the toxicology of pesticides would be valuable.
在这项比较研究中，我们通过挑选两组居住在墨西哥西北部雅基山谷的4至5岁雅基儿童，弥补了许多已知的影响儿童生长发育的变量。这些儿童有着相似的基因背景、饮食、水矿物质含量、文化模式和社会行为。主要差异在于他们接触农药的情况。自20世纪40年代末以来，该山谷的农业区一直使用农药。1990年，在新生儿脐带血和母乳中发现了高含量的多种农药。基于人类学中对环境问题进行快速农村评估的方法，开发了一种学前儿童快速评估工具（RATPC）来测量生长发育情况。将农业区的儿童与居住在山麓地区、避免使用农药的儿童进行了比较。RATPC测量了身体生长的各个方面以及在正常童年活动中的表现或功能能力。在生长模式方面未发现差异。在功能上，接触农药的儿童在耐力、粗大和精细的眼手协调能力、30分钟记忆力以及画人的能力方面表现出下降。RATPC还指出了一些领域，在这些领域对农药毒理学进行更深入的研究将很有价值。
