ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2011
DDT and malaria prevention: addressing the paradox.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Mosquito-Borne Diseases Emergence/Resurgence and How to Effectively Control It Biologically.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- In utero DDT exposure and breast density before age 50.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2020Article
- Chemical Risk Factors of Primary Liver Cancer: An Update.Hepatic medicine : evidence and research · 2020Review
- Linking organochlorine exposure to biomarker response patterns in Anurans: a case study of Müller's clawed frog (Xenopus muelleri) from a tropical malaria vector control region.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2018Article
- DDT and Obesity in Humans: Exploring the Evidence in a New Way.Environmental health perspectives · 2018Article
- Synthesis of the DDT metabolite 2,4-dichloro-1-[2-chloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]benzene (o-Cl-DDMU) and its detection in abiotic and biotic samples.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2017Article
- Developmental neurotoxicity of succeeding generations of insecticides.Environment international · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on byDDT Paradox.2011
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe debate regarding dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in malaria prevention and human health is polarized and can be classified into three positions: anti-DDT, centrist-DDT, pro-DDT.
objectiveWe attempted to arrive at a synthesis by matching a series of questions on the use of DDT for indoor residual spraying (IRS) with literature and insights, and to identify options and opportunities. DISCUSSION: Overall, community health is significantly improved through all available malaria control measures, which include IRS with DDT. Is DDT "good"? Yes, because it has saved many lives. Is DDT safe as used in IRS? Recent publications have increasingly raised concerns about the health implications of DDT. Therefore, an unqualified statement that DDT used in IRS is safe is untenable. Are inhabitants and applicators exposed? Yes, and to high levels. Should DDT be used? The fact that DDT is "good" because it saves lives, and "not safe" because it has health and environmental consequences, raises ethical issues. The evidence of adverse human health effects due to DDT is mounting. However, under certain circumstances, malaria control using DDT cannot yet be halted. Therefore, the continued use of DDT poses a paradox recognized by a centrist-DDT position. At the very least, it is now time to invoke precaution. Precautionary actions could include use and exposure reduction.
conclusionsThere are situations where DDT will provide the best achievable health benefit, but maintaining that DDT is safe ignores the cumulative indications of many studies. In such situations, addressing the paradox from a centrist-DDT position and invoking precaution will help design choices for healthier lives.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.