Prenatal exposure to solvents and toxic chemicals causes lower IQ scores in children

• Children whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to on-the-job solvents such as paint or dry-cleaning fluids score lower on tests for IQ, language and cognitive skills than others their age, a study has found.
• "It does seem that organic solvents do affect brain development when exposure occurs in pregnancy, which means women should do everything possible to minimize such exposure," said Dr. Gideon Koren, lead investigator of the study at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.
• While the differences between exposed children and their peers were "relatively mild" and parents reported no major problems, "when we looked more carefully at specific functions, they did have trends which.
• showed lower achievements," said Koren, a pediatric toxicologist and head of the hospital's Motherisk program.
• The children also had a greater propensity for being hyperactive and impulsive, he said.
• The study, published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, looked at the children of 32 women enrolled in the Motherisk program in the late 1980s.
• All had worked around organic solvents, including in labs, hair salons, funeral homes where embalming was performed, factories, dry-cleaners and photography studios.
• The women, who reported wearing masks and protective gear, all worked through at least their first trimester of pregnancy.
• Organic solvents "are those that smell," said Koren, noting hundreds of toxic chemicals are used in Canadian industries.