怀孕也要挑“吉日”
Seasonofconceptiontiedtoschoolperformance
[ 2007-05-11 08:18 ]
Thetimeofyearawomanconceivesmayinfluencethefutureacademicperformanceofherchild, accordingtoresearchreportedthisweekatthePediatricAcademicSocieties' annualmeeting.
Whenresearcherslinkedstandardizedtestscoresof 1,667,391 Indianastudentsingrades 3 through 10 withthemonthinwhicheachstudenthadbeenconceived, theyfoundthatchildrenconceivedMaythroughAugustscoredsignificantlyloweronmathandlanguageteststhanchildrenconceivedduringothermonthsoftheyear. Thecorrelationbetweentestscoresandconceptionseasonheldregardlessofrace, gender, andgradelevel. Whymightthisbe? AccordingtoDr. PaulWinchesterofIndianaUniversitySchoolofMedicinewholedthestudy, theevidencepointstoenvironmentalpesticides, usedmostofteninthesummermonths, asapossibleplayer. Thelowertestscorescorrelatedwithhigherlevelsofpesticidesandnitratesinthesurfacewater (nearbystreamsandotherbodiesofwater) duringthatsametimeperiod, hetoldReutersHealth. "Exposuretopesticidesandnitratescanalterthehormonalmilieuofthepregnantmotherandthedevelopingfetalbrain," Winchesterexplainedinastatement. Forexample, pastresearchhaslinkedexposuretopesticidesandnitratestolowthyroidhormonelevels ("hypothyroidism") inpregnantwomenandhypothyroidisminpregnancyhasbeentiedtolowerintelligencetestscoresinoffspring. Whilethecurrentfindingsdonotprovethatpesticidesandnitratescontributetolowertestscores, "theystronglysupportsuchahypothesis," Winchestersaid. "Apriorithereshouldbenoreasonsparticularlywhythemonthofconceptionshouldchangeyour (test) scores," headdedinaninterview, "andyetfromourchainofevidenceourhypothesiswasthatifpesticidesdoalterthefriendlyenvironmentofthedevelopingfetusthanthatmightbereflectedinlowerscores. Andunfortunatelythat'swhatwefound." "Thereissomethinggoingon" anditneedstobestudiedfurther, Winchesterconcluded.