Monday 11 June 2012

Exposure of mothers to pesticides could lead to obesity in children


Environmental agents be it dietary factors, chemicals- drugs, pesticides etc. affect the genetic make-up of individuals. Conversely, changes in the genetic make-up influence variation in individual response to similar environmental agent exposure making some individuals at increased risk for developing certain diseases. Interactions between genes and environmental agents are responsible for most diseases (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/science/gene-env/index.cfm). It is also known that exposure of expectant mothers to environmental factors affects the development of diseases in the children. A previous post explored this aspect. http://ecoratorio.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/paper-of-week-effects-of-prenatal.html

A recent paper (Andersen et al , 2012)  ties all these facts and shows that prenatal exposure to pesticides could affect risk of cardiovascular disease development later in life. Results from a Danish study, which is a part of an on-going prospective study of the effects of pesticide exposure in early pregnancy on the growth and development in the children, offers important insight. From 1996 to 2000 pregnant women working in greenhouses, were recruited consecutively in this study and were categorized as high, medium, or not exposed to pesticides. The children underwent a physical examination at age 6 to11 years that measured blood pressure, body weight, BMI etc. The presence of a gene PON1 and the different types of this gene in the children was also studied.This gene codes for the enzyme HDL-associated  paraoxonase 1 (PON1) has anti-oxidative functions that may protect against atherosclerosis. Additionally it hydrolyses many substrates including organophosphate pesticides. Changes in PON1 ( a common polymorphism- PON1 Q192R) affects both properties. Children with PON1 192R-allele of women exposed to pesticides had higher body fat content, BMI-scores, blood pressure and increased abdominal girth than unexposed children. For children with the PON1 192QQ genotype, exposure of pesticide exposure prenatally had no effect.

This study highlights the complications in gene-environment interactions and  how maternal pesticide exposure can put children with a certain genetic make up  at risk for developing cardiovascular diseases.


Image: Timothy Whallett 
References: Andersen HR, Wohlfahrt-Veje C, Dalgård C, Christiansen L, Main KM, Nellemann C, Murata K, Jensen TK, Skakkebæk NE, & Grandjean P (2012). Paraoxonase 1 polymorphism and prenatal pesticide exposure associated with adverse cardiovascular risk profiles at school age. PloS one, 7 (5) PMID: 22615820
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Disclaimer

By using this blog, you signify your agreement to this disclaimer. Do not use this website if you do not agree to this disclaimer.

This blog is published by Sarah Stephen and Ruth Stephen, and reflects the personal views of the contributors, in their individual capacities as a concerned citizen of this planet. The term 'Ecoratorio', as well as every graphic, opinion, comment, and statement expressed in this blog are the exclusive property of the blog publishers and contributors (© 2009 - present), unless explicitly stated otherwise, and should not be disseminated without the written consent of the author(s). The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily representative of the views of any school, college, University, company, organisation, city, town, state, country, or church where the author(s) have studied, worked, worshipped, or lived, and is not sponsored or endorsed by them.

This blog and its contents does not receive any sponsorship, financial or otherwise, neither is it aimed at generating any money.

The matter on this blog has been prepared for informational purposes only, and the reader(s) should not solely rely upon this information for any purpose nor should he/she assume that this information applies to his/her specific situation. Furthermore, the matter on this blog may or may not reflect the current and future trends/developments, may or may not be general or specific, accordingly, information on this blog is not promised, or guaranteed, to be correct or complete. The publishers and author(s) explicitly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken, or not taken, based on any, or all, the contents of this blog. Thus, the reader(s) is/are reading the posts and arriving at conclusions about the information, or about the author(s), or otherwise, at his/her own risk.

This blog may contain weblinks, which are provided solely for the reader(s) convenience. Such weblinks to another blog or website does not imply any relationship, affiliation, endorsement, responsibility, or approval of the linked resources or their contents (over which we have no control). Accessing these links will be at the reader(s)’s own risk.

The publishers and author(s) are not responsible for translation and interpretation of content. Occasionally, the blog might contain subjects which may be considered offensive from certain individuals’ points-of-view, and the author(s) refuses to accept any liability for any psychological, physical, and emotional reactions, short-term or long-term, which the posts might generate in the reader(s). However, each post in this blog is the individual opinion of the author(s) and is not intended to malign any city/town/village, state, country, continent, faith, religion, practice, ethnic group, club, organisation, company, or individual. Neither are the publishers and author(s) responsible for any statements bound to government, religious, or other laws from the reader(s)’s country of origin.

The publishers and author(s) reserves the right to update, edit, delete or otherwise remove, the posts or any comments, the latter of which might be deemed offensive or spam. The publishers and author(s) cannot warrant that the use of this blog will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that defects on this site will be corrected. The publishers and author(s) also reserves the right to publish in print media, in whole or part, any of the posts which might be an edited version. If the reader(s) has a problem with any post, the publishers and author(s) expects them to contact them, explaining the reasons for their discomfort. However, if the reader(s) choose to communicate with the publishers and author(s) by email, the reader(s) must note that since the security of unencrypted email is uncertain, sending sensitive or confidential emails holds the risks of such uncertainty and possible lack of confidentiality.

The publishers and author(s) reserve the right to change this Disclaimer, from time to time, in their sole and absolute discretion. If the reader(s) using this website after the institution of such changes, he/she is signifying their agreement to these changes. The publishers and author(s) also reserve the right to discontinue any aspect of this website at any time.

Thankyou.