1. CHAMACOS Community Forum
December, 2013

2. Today’s Schedule 4:30-4:45 pm – Presentation of new CHAMACOS science
Does eating organic food lower your pesticide exposure?
Do pesticides cause asthma?
Is manganese from pesticides getting in our homes?
4:45-5:15 pm – Your chemical report: what does it mean?
5:15-6:00 pm – Receiving your chemical report
6:00 pm – RAFFLE!
NOTE: You are welcome to leave after the raffle. We will stay after the raffle to answer any more questions that you might have.

3. Organic Food Study We wanted to know:
How are children exposed to pesticides?
Through food?
Is there a difference between agricultural and urban areas?

4. Organic Food Study We enrolled 40 families with young children
20 families in Oakland
20 families in Salinas
Families were similar
Families were given all organic food for one week
We collected urine from the children each day and measured metabolites of organophosphate (OP) pesticides

5. Organic vs. Conventional Diet
Food is a major source of exposure to OP Pesticides
180
160
140
120
100
Urinary Pesticide Metabolites (nmol/L) 80 60 40 20
Conventional
Organic
Conventional
Organic
Salinas
Oakland

6. Agricultural Area vs. Urban Area
Living near agriculture is also important
180
160
140
120
100
Urinary Pesticide Metabolites (nmol/L) 80 60 40 20
Conventional
Organic
Conventional
Organic
Salinas
Oakland

7. Organophosphate Pesticides and Asthma
We wanted to know:
Is there a link between organophosphate (OP) pesticide exposure and asthma symptoms in the CHAMACOS study?

8. In our CHAMACOS families
We looked at OP pesticides in urine from:
Mothers during pregnancy
Children between 6 months and 5 years
We asked mothers about whether their child had asthma symptoms at 5 and 7 years of age

9. OP Pesticide Exposure and Asthma Results
We found more asthma symptoms in:
Children whose mothers were exposed to higher levels of OP pesticides during the 2nd half of pregnancy
Children who were exposed to higher levels of OP pesticides during childhood
Children with highest OP pesticide exposure had two times the risk of respiratory symptoms.
Children whose mothers had the highest OP pesticide exposure had 50% higher risk of respiratory symptoms.

10. Fungicides made with Manganese
Widely used in Salinas Valley
Manganese is an essential nutrient, but too much is toxic
We wanted to know if the use of fungicides with manganese:
Increased manganese levels in homes
Increased manganese levels in children’s teeth
Was related to children’s brain development

11. Manganese in house dust and teeth
We measured manganese in dust from CHAMACOS homes and children’s teeth
We found higher manganese levels if:
Manganese fungicide had been used of fields near the home
Farmworker clothes or shoes were stored in the home
Home did not have a door mat
Like rings in a tree

12. Manganese in teeth and children's brain development
Children with higher levels of manganese in their teeth had a small decrease in motor development at 6-months
These effects went away as the children grew older
So far, we see no lasting effects of manganese exposure at the levels we find among CHAMACOS children
Children with 2 times higher manganese in teeth had motor scores 2.5 points lower than children with lower levels of manganese in teeth.
The average scores were about 100 for motor and mental.
No relationship with brain development at 12 and 24 months.

13. Our future directions We would like to see your child again at
14 years old
16 years old
We will study how respond to stress and learn about their behaviors as they become teenagers
We are also looking at whether exposure to some chemicals make our kids gain weight

14. We look forward to seeing your children grow !!!
See you on the next visit
When your child turns 14!