RESEARCH - Insecticides may raise risk of lupus, RA

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Insecticides May Raise Risk of Lupus, RA

Study Shows Increased Risk of Autoimmune Diseases in Women Who Use Insecticides

By Charlene Laino

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 20, 2009 (Philadelphia) -- Women who spray their homes and

gardens with insecticides may be placing themselves at risk for

rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, a study shows.

In a study of more than 75,000 women, those who used insecticides six

or more times a year had nearly two-and-a-half times the risk of

developing the autoimmune diseases than women who adopted a

live-and-let-live attitude toward bugs.

Similarly, the risk more than doubled if bug sprays were used in the

home for 20 or more years.

Hiring a gardener or commercial company to apply insecticides also

resulted in a doubling of risk, but only if they were used long-term,

says G. Parks, PhD, an epidemiologist with the National

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park,

N.C.

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Read the entire article here:

http://lupus.webmd.com/news/20091020/insecticides-may-raise-risk-of-lupus-ra

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