Pesticide Exposure and Child Neurodevelopment: Insights from Communities in Mojuí dos Campos, Pará
Child development; Agrochemicals; Nervous system intoxication; Environmental justice
Child neurodevelopment in the early years of life is highly sensitive to environmental factors, especially in contexts of social vulnerability and exposure to toxic substances. In the western region of Pará, the expansion of agriculture and the intensive use of pesticides have raised concerns about their health impacts on rural populations, particularly children. This study aims to investigate the influence of direct or indirect exposure to pesticides on the neurodevelopment of children aged 0 to 6 years living in communities surrounding the municipality of Mojuí dos Campos, Pará.
For this purpose, two main instruments will be applied: a structured questionnaire designed to collect information about the gestational, environmental, and socioeconomic contexts of families; and the Denver II Test, used to screen for developmental delays in the personal-social, fine motor, language, and gross motor domains. Sampling will be intentional, and data will be statistically analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk, Wilcoxon, and chi-square tests.
The expected results are that significant associations will be found between exposure levels and developmental difficulties, contributing to the mapping of risk areas and supporting public policies aimed at child protection and the promotion of safer agricultural practices.