Developments in Brief : Pesticide Use Linked to Childhood Leukemia

Children who live in homes where pesticides are used regularly or whose parents are exposed to toxic chemicals in the workplace face an increased risk of developing leukemia, according to a USC medical researcher.

Dr. John Peters drew this conclusion in a report in this month’s issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study of 123 Los Angeles children with leukemia and 123 without the malignancy found that regular use of pesticides in the home rendered children 3.8 times more likely to develop the disease. The study also showed that regular use of garden sprays imparted a 6.5 times greater risk of leukemia.

Regular use refers to once a week or more for household sprays and once a month or more for garden sprays. All of the children in the study were 10 years old or younger, Peters said.

The study also turned up preliminary evidence that may link parental occupational exposures to certain chemicals, dyes, pigments and chlorinated solvents to increased childhood leukemia risk.

Peters said children whose fathers work in industries that manufacture aircraft and other transportation equipment have a 2.5 times greater risk of leukemia development than children whose parents work in other industries. That finding links Peters’ current study to an earlier investigation that found a relationship between childhood brain tumors and parental exposure to solvents in the aircraft industry.