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Congenital heart defects and parental occupational exposure to chemicals

Claudia A Snijder1, Ingrid J Vlot, Alex Burdorf

  • 1Division of Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus MC, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)
|February 24, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Paternal occupational exposure to certain chemicals during conception is linked to a higher risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs) in children. Maternal exposure showed no such association, but results require cautious interpretation due to exposure measurement limitations.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatrics
  • Occupational Medicine

Background:

  • Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common major malformations in newborns.
  • Investigating periconceptional occupational chemical exposures in parents as a potential risk factor for CHDs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between parental occupational chemical exposures around the time of conception and the occurrence of CHDs in children.

Main Methods:

  • An age-matched case-control study involving 424 children with CHDs and 480 controls.
  • Questionnaires collected data on parental job characteristics and exposures.
  • A job exposure matrix was utilized to estimate chemical exposures.

Main Results:

  • No association was found between maternal occupational chemical exposure and CHDs.
  • Paternal exposure to phthalates was linked to a higher incidence of CHDs (OR adjusted = 2.08).
  • Specific paternal exposures were associated with particular CHDs: phthalates (perimembranous ventricular septal defect), polychlorinated compounds (atrioventricular septal defect), and alkylphenolic compounds (coarctation of the aorta).

Conclusions:

  • Periconceptional paternal occupational exposure to specific chemicals may increase the risk of CHDs in offspring.
  • Maternal exposure was not associated with increased CHD risk.
  • Study findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the use of exposure probabilities as a proxy for actual exposure levels.
Abstract

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