Insecticides and Autoimmune Diseases
Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 4:57AM
New research suggests that women who spritz insecticides to eliminate cockroaches, mosquitoes, ants and other bugs are at higher than normal risk of developing autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The study, from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, looked at data from nearly 77,000 postmenopausal women age 50 to 79. Earlier research had reported that regular exposures to agricultural pesticides increase the risk of the two diseases among farmers and others. The aim of this study was to see if the home use of insecticides also affected risk. It suggested that women who reported applying insecticides, or mixing them, had a higher risk of developing lupus or rheumatoid arthritis than women who reported no insecticide use. Women who used or mixed insecticides the most had double the normal risk (overall, the researchers said that the risk of these diseases is low) they occur among about two percent of older adults. More research will be needed to explore what factors might explain the findings and what specific chemicals are involved; the investigators said it wasn't clear what products were used. The study results were presented in October, 2009, at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
My take? Even before we heard about this potential link between autoimmune diseases and insecticides, I regarded most pesticides, herbicides and other household poisons as a dangerous group of chemicals that should be avoided. Instead, I recommend natural insecticides such as pyrethrum, obtained from a flower in the daisy family; or neem, from an Indian tree. Keep commercial insecticides out of your house, and don't let an exterminator use them either.
More information on autoimmune disorders.
Reader Comments (2)
I just talked with a friend. She has a 17 year old son. 3 years ago he developed migraines. Two years ago back pain - then neck pain - and most recently an elbow has begun to lock. This truly feels like an episode of House. Have you any thoughts.
Greetings:
We are sorry to hear about your friend's son. We don't have enough information to suggest what it might be but you may want to go to www.drweil.com and use the Search box on the upper right to type in some of the symptoms and see if there is anything that rings a bell? And you might see if there is a Dr. Weil trained doctor in your friend's area? http://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/alumni.html