Exposure to Pesticides May Lead to Childhood Asthma
Yet another reason to keep pesticides out of the house: Children exposed to household bug-killing chemicals during the first year of life may be more than twice as likely to develop asthma as those not exposed, according to new research by scientists at the University of Southern California. Kids’ asthma risk is also increased by exposure to wood smoke, cockroaches, and farm animals. Childhood asthma has hit epidemic proportions in the U.S., affecting more than 3.5 million kids under the age of 15; nearly twice as many children had asthma in 1999 as did in 1980. Asthma is now the top childhood disease in the U.S., leading to more missed school days and hospital stays than any other chronic illness. So this U.S. climate negotiator walks into a bar …
