Reproductive Effects
Reproductive effects in rat offspring have been observed only at doses high enough to also cause toxic effects on the livers, ovaries, and feeding behavior of the parents. Rats fed diets containing dicofol through two generations exhibited adverse effects on the survival and/or growth of newborns at 6.25 and 12.5 mg/kg/day
- Teratogenic effects: No teratogenic effects are observed when rats were given up to 25 mg/kg/day on days 6 through 15 of pregnancy
- Mutagenic effects: Laboratory tests have shown that dicofol is not mutagenic
- Endocrine disruption: Evidence for dicofol to cause endocrine disruption is suggestive, but not definitive
A 2007 study by the California Department of Public Health found that women in the first eight weeks of pregnancy who live near farm fields sprayed with dicofol and the related organochloride pesticide endosulfan are several times more likely to give birth to children with autism. These results are highly preliminary due to the small number of women and children involved and lack of evidence from other studies.
Read more about this topic: Dicofol
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