Neurotoxins and ADHD: Connecting the Dots

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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

My friend Sally used to corral her three teenage children to clean their house every Saturday morning. I was envious of her chutzpa to demand this of her kids, but the part of the story that was always tragic to me was that every Saturday afternoon without fail, Sally's son Sam was sent to his room for hyperactive, "out of control" behavior.

Looking at the cause and effect of the son's behavior through my lens of awareness of how neurotoxic many cleaning chemicals are, I could see it would make sense that the son's central nervous system and brain could be reacting to these chemicals. Symptoms of neurotoxicity include lack of concentration, personality changes, depression, hyperactivity and the mimicking of psychiatric disorders.

Not being particularly "green," the cleaning products Sally would buy for her kids to use were the standard store-bought fare readily available in supermarkets. Examples of neurotoxins found in such products include VOCs (furniture polish can contain VOCs), neurotoxic disinfectants, petroleum distillates, fragrances (scented products are notoriously neurotoxic), and waxes (VOCs again in the solvents), to name a few.

Pesticides take front seat in the arsenal of poisons that hurt the central nervous system and brain. After all, they are designed to kill. A new study reported in the June issue of Pediatrics, published online May 17, links organophosphate pesticide metabolites found in urine to a much higher incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

"Each 10-fold increase in urinary concentration of organophosphate metabolites was associated with a 55 percent to 72 percent increase in the odds of ADHD," study author Maryse F. Bouchard, PhD, of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Montreal, told Medscape Psychiatry.

Another example of subtle neurotoxic exposure children suffer through that most adults miss is to the solvents in markers in art class. When my daughter was in school, one year the math class was the period after art class, and she said that the kids were always "off the walls" in math class. What a tragedy, and one that could so easily be avoided if schools stopped allowing neurotoxic art materials to be used. How many kids thought they were bad at math when the culprit was the colored markers?

I've often wondered why the dots haven't been connected by most people between neurotoxic chemicals and ADHD-type behavior. After all, if a neurotoxic chemical is known to cause depression, for example, and that chemical is being used, why do so few people (and almost no psychiatrists) say, oh my gosh, let's remove the neurotoxin?

At least one thing parents can do is to remove neurotoxins from the home. Here are eleven quick solutions:

Yes to "green" dry cleaning using C02, no to dry cleaning with perchlorethelene (and hanging clothes in bedroom closets);
Yes to water-based markers, no to solvent-based markers;
Yes to natural furniture polishes or simple jojoba oil (a natural wax), no to furniture polish made of volatile organic chemicals;
Yes to organic produce, no to highly processed foods.
Yes to food with natural food coloring, no to food with FD&C dyes;
Yes to safe integrated pest management, no to synthetic pesticides;
Yes to cedar and herbs for moths, no to moth balls;
Yes to natural essential oils for fragrance, no to synthetic perfumes and fragrances;
Yes to vegetable-based Free and Clear detergents and cleaning products, no to cleaning products containing volatile organic chemicals;
Yes to efficient heating systems, no to kerosene, open gas, or other systems that could leak carbon monoxide;
Yes to educating yourself about lead paint and other sources of lead, no to hoping for the best if you live in a house built before 1978.

Simple steps such as these can make a big difference. Being away from neurotoxins helps you have more serene sleep, babies are less fussy, children concentration is improved, people are calmer and the lifestyle helps you have a better sense of well-being.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of
Healthy Child Healthy World.

Posted by Joe on 11/24/2010 at 02:10 PM

This is a thought provoking article, but please post the studies here that have pointed out a cause-effect relationship of neurotoxins and ADHD. There isn’t much scientific evidence that links the two in this article.

The study mentioned here is pretty dubious…the conclusion pretty much sums it up….no real conclusion Anybody can read this study on Pubmed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov):

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and urinary metabolites of organophosphate pesticides.

Bouchard MF, Bellinger DC, Wright RO, Weisskopf MG.

Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. maryse.bouchard@umontreal.ca
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to examine the association between urinary concentrations of dialkyl phosphate metabolites of organophosphates and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children 8 to 15 years of age.

METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2000-2004) were available for 1139 children, who were representative of the general US population. A structured interview with a parent was used to ascertain ADHD diagnostic status, on the basis of slightly modified criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition.

RESULTS: One hundred nineteen children met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Children with higher urinary dialkyl phosphate concentrations, especially dimethyl alkylphosphate (DMAP) concentrations, were more likely to be diagnosed as having ADHD. A 10-fold increase in DMAP concentration was associated with an odds ratio of 1.55 (95% confidence interval: 1.14-2.10), with adjustment for gender, age, race/ethnicity, poverty/income ratio, fasting duration, and urinary creatinine concentration. For the most-commonly detected DMAP metabolite, dimethyl thiophosphate, children with levels higher than the median of detectable concentrations had twice the odds of ADHD (adjusted odds ratio: 1.93 [95% confidence interval: 1.23-3.02]), compared with children with undetectable levels.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis that organophosphate exposure, at levels common among US children, may contribute to ADHD prevalence. Prospective studies are needed to establish whether this association is causal.

Posted by Carrie Elsass on 09/03/2010 at 06:18 AM

A big NO to vaccines, which contain a number of neurotoxins.

Posted by Jennifer on 08/05/2010 at 05:58 AM

If your a parent dealing with ADHD, you may want to read what Brain Balance has to say about the issue. Not only do they try to strengthen the functional disconnection in the brain that is the underlying issue of ADHD, but they also educate the parents on ‘greening” a child’s diet so that there are no additives and chemicals that could contribute to symptoms. It’s worth a read… www.brainbalancecenters.com/the-truth/

Posted by Willene on 08/05/2010 at 04:52 AM

This comment is especially for Anne and all others who are looking for safer products. I am a customer of a company who has been offering “green” products for 25 years. A company who cares about our health, our families health, and the health of the environment. They have an outstanding research team that makes sure every product they offer is safe. I would love to share with you my experience with this company. Contact me by email: willene.johnson@cox.net or website: www.theanswer.fourpointwellness.com

Posted by Lisa Redford on 08/04/2010 at 11:43 PM

Companies which sell products saying “With Essential Oils” is just a ploy to join the band wagon. What they do is isolate the molecules of the EO which produce the ‘smell’ and only use that in their products. So, in fact you get only the smell of the EO and not the healing properties, along with all other toxic chemicals that are put in their product. I now avoid anything that says “fragrance”, “parfum” or “essential oils” and read the labels to check whats actually in the product. Its a con and sadly most people fall for it because they think that if a product contains essential oils it must be good.

Posted by Ecosmart Sedona on 08/04/2010 at 01:17 PM

Say yes to “fragrance free” or “hypo allergenic” not essential oils. Most have stabilizers or other synthetics and chemicals. Even “organic” products can have 1% chemicals. The fragrance of essential oils doesn’t last without additives, so most companies us additives. I give up the sweet smell for happy healthy.

Posted by Anne on 08/04/2010 at 11:09 AM

This a great article with good ideas! It would be even more useful if, when suggesting things like “yes to water based markers” you could give some examples of companies that offer such products. Likewise, companies that make cleaning products without neurotoxic chemicals.

Our family already does most of the above, but we’re always on the lookout for new or better products. For example, if I went to a store and read the ingredients of every box of markers available, unless the box specified that the markers did not contain solvents, I still might not know for sure which ones were safest…

Posted by Andrea on 08/04/2010 at 09:25 AM

What is wrong with hanging clothes in bedroom closets if no dry cleaning is used???

Posted by Lisa Berry-Klausmeyer on 08/03/2010 at 04:00 PM

Thanks for the reminders.
I do as much as I can, yet it is a constant battle in our chemical-happy society.
We could go on and on about this subject, from dental materials to vaccine protocol…. food processing to our ‘health care’ structure, yikes!
LB

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