Peak Agricultural Pesticide Spray Periods are related to Real-World Cognition Using an Ecological Momentary Assessment Burst Design over Two Years

Peak floricultural pesticide spray seasons in the ESPINA cohort in Ecuador are linked to higher processing speed T-scores, including Matching Pair (B=0.62) and Odd One Out (B=0.88), over 2022–2024.

• Why it matters: Snapshot cognitive tests may miss short-term fluctuations, so it is unclear whether real-world cognition varies between high- and low-spray periods tied to agricultural production.
• What they did: In 494 participants (ages 17–25) completing 15,063 ecological momentary cognitive testing assessments, nine 10-day burst sessions were run every 2–3 months during peak versus off-peak seasons, using NeuroUx and mixed-effects models.
• The result: Peak season showed no significant association with other cognitive tests or the overall composite, while direct floricultural employment was associated with lower overall performance (B=-0.59), especially Memory Matrix (B=-0.78) and Matching Pair (B=-0.70).

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