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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Relation between pesticide exposure and intrauterine growth retardation
Margarita Levario-Carrillo1, Dante Amato, Patricia Ostrosky-Wegman
1Unidad de Investigación Médica en Epidemiología Clínica, Hospital de Ginecología y Obstetricia IMSS, Av. División del Norte 2300 CH 44-228, Colonia Altavista, CP 31320 Chihuahua, México. mlevario@lycos.com
Abstract:
The increased use of organophosphorus insecticides in agriculture and their widespread existence in the environment poses a potential health hazard. To determine the relationship between exposure to pesticides and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), live newborns from singleton pregnancies, with (n = 79) and without (n = 292) IUGR were studied. During the gestational period the mothers were living in agricultural communities in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Exposure to agrochemical products was evaluated. A significant association between the history of positive exposure to pesticides (i.e. the women themselves or their newborns who showed acetylcholinesterase activity levels lower than 20%) and the presence of IUGR was found. The proportions of exposure in the cases were 18% and 8% in the control group; the adjusted OR (fat free mass, anti-cytomegalovirus antibodies and placental weight) was 2.33 (p = 0.04).
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