As per a recent study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the exposure to pesticides during pregnancy poses more risk to children getting affected by an attention disorder by the age of 5.

The researchers found out that the pregnant women, when come in contact with pesticides such as malathion, develop metabolites, which is detected in their urine. The children whose mothers' metabolites rise by ten-folds have five-times more risk of contracting an attention disorder.

Brenda Eskenazi, a study co-author and Director of the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Children's Environmental Health, suggests women to wash the fruits and vegetables properly so as to ensure less risk of consuming pesticides, which affect their foetuses.

In an earlier study conducted by Harvard researchers, similar results were concluded, which showcased the development of an attention deficit disorder in children on getting exposed to organophosphates.

In the study, the researchers examined children with ages 3 1/2 and 5 born to the 348 Mexican-American women for symptoms of attention disorders and ADHD by gathering information regarding the children's behavior from their mothers, examiner's ratings and performance of the children on standardized computer tests. The attention disorders were significant in the children with age 5.

The California's Salinas Valley is an agricultural area where the study was carried out, so the women studied could be more exposed to pesticides. Thus, a general consensus cannot be formed on association between attention disorder and exposure to pesticides during pregnancy, as stated by Dr. Hyagriv Simhan, Chief of the division of maternal-fetal medicine and vice chair of obstetrical services at MaGee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.