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Context:Although national poison center data show that pesticides were the 8th most commonly reported substance category (3.27%) for children aged ≤5 years in 2014, there is limited information on childhood and adolescent pesticide exposures. Objective:This study assessed pesticide-related poison center exposures in children and adolescents aged ≤19 years from 2000–2013 in Texas to characterize the potential burden of pesticides. Materials and methods:Pesticide-related poison center exposures among children and adolescents aged ≤19 years reported to Texas poison centers were identified. The distribution of exposures was estimated by gender, age category, medical outcome, management site, exposure route, and pesticide category. Results:From 2000 to 2013, there were 61,147 pesticide-related poison center exposures in children and adolescents aged ≤19 years. The prevalence was highest among males at 864.24 per 100,000 population. The prevalence of unintentional exposures was highest among children aged ≤5 years at 2310.69 per 100,000 population, whereas the prevalence of intentional exposures was highest among adolescents aged 13–19 years at 13.82 per 100,000 population. A majority of medical outcomes reported were classified as having no effect (30.24%) and not followed, but minimal clinical effects possible (42.74%). Of all the exposures, 81.24% were managed on site. However, 57% of intentional exposures were referred to or treated at a health-care facility. The most common routes of exposure were ingestion (80.83%) and dermal (17.21%). The most common pesticide categories included rodenticides (30.02%), pyrethrins/pyrethroids (20.69%), and other and unspecified insecticides (18.14%). Discussion:The study found differences in the frequency of exposures by intent for sex and age categories, and identified the most common medical outcomes, management site, exposure route, and pesticide category. Conclusion:Through characterizing pesticide-related poison center exposures, future interventions can be designed to address groups with higher prevalence of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pesticide exposures are associated with multiple adverse health outcomes. Previous studies have shown use of pesticides inside homes along the United States-Mexico border. This inventory assessed household pesticide use in low-income, predominantly Hispanic colonias in Webb and Hidalgo Counties, near the Texas-Mexico border. Three rounds of data were collected, in Webb County in the spring and fall, and Hidalgo County in the spring. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Promotoras (lay health workers) asked participants to show them the pesticide containers in the home, then completed a pesticide inventory form for each container. The collected data included the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration number, application frequency, and where each pesticide was used. In each of three sampling rounds, between 89.5%-92.1% of the pesticides had EPA registration numbers and were in their original, labelled containers. Over half the pesticides (ranging from 55.6% to 74.5% in each round) were used once per month or more often. Pyrethroids were the most common active ingredients overall (accounting for 47.3% to 66.7% of the active ingredients identified in the three rounds). In all rounds, over 30% of the pesticides identifi ed in this inventory were reportedly used in kitchen cabinets or on kitchen surfaces used for food. Within the subset of pesticides used in kitchen cabinets or on food surfaces, the most common active ingredients were pyrethroids (ranging from 50.0% to 80.0% in the three rounds). The results suggest additional research is needed regarding the frequency of pesticide use indoors, particularly on food surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited literature on the frequency and distribution of pesticide exposures, specifically with respect to demographic and environmental factors in the United States. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate geographic trends and factors associated with unintentional pesticide exposures in children and adolescents in Texas. The study used an ecological design with secondary data. A spatial scan statistic, based on a Poisson regression model, was employed to identify spatial clusters of unintentional pesticide-related poison center exposures. Next, logistic regression models were constructed to identify potential demographic and environmental factors associated with unintentional pesticide-related poison center exposures. There were 59,477 unintentional pesticide-related poison center exposures from 2000 to 2013. The spatial scan statistic found a change in the number of counties in the identified clusters (e.g. , aggregation of counties with higher than expected exposures) for two time periods (2000-2006; 2007-2013). Based on the logistic regression models, factors associated with unintentional pesticide-related poison center exposures were percent black or African American population, year structure built, and percent moved in the past 12 months. In conclusion, this study found certain demographic and environmental factors may be associated with unintentional pesticide-related poison center exposures. Through understanding trends and associated factors, public health professionals can design interventions for populations at higher risk of pesticide exposures. This study also supports the use of spatial methods being utilized to expand upon current analysis of poison center data. Future research should confirm and build upon these findings.