Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 4: Young male children exposed to the pesticide Endosulfan in a north Kerala village showed delayed sexual maturity, according to a study.
Endosulfan also appears to interfere with sex hormone synthesis, according to results of the study of males aged 10-19 years in a community of cashew plantations in Kasaragod district.
The findings of the study were published in the December issue of the journal 'Environmental Health Perspectives', a publication of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
The scientific study had added fresh impetus to the argument of the local people that onslaught of crippling diseases like liver and blood cancer, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental retardation, congenital handicaps, asthma and infertility in Padre village was due to the use of Endosulfan. There are no polluting industries in Padre and the village had a fairly normal health profile before the spraying started.
Researchers evaluated 117 boys in the village where Endosulfan had been aerially sprayed for more than 20 years and 90 comparable boys from a nearby village with no such exposure history. For each group, the researchers conducted physical examinations and recorded clinical history, sexual maturity rating, and blood levels of various hormones.
The study found a higher prevalence of congenital abnormalities related to testicular descent in the study group, but it was not statistically significant due to a small sample size.
"Our study results suggest that endosulfan exposure may delay sexual maturity and interfere with hormone synthesis in male children," the study authors wrote. The lead author was Dr Habibullah Saiyed of the National Institute of Occupational Health (Indian Council of Medical Research).
"The practice of aerial spraying of endosulfan was discontinued in December 2000. Serum endosulfan residue levels were significantly higher in the study population than in the control group even ten months after the last aerial spray."
