Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Prenatal environmental exposures and associations with teen births
Nicole V DeVille1,2,3, Roxana Khalili4, Jonathan I Levy5
1Program in Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. nhnvd@channing.harvard.edu.
Background:
Children's prenatal exposure to multiple environmental chemicals may contribute to subsequent deficits in impulse control, predisposing them to risk-taking.
Objective:
Our goal was to investigate associations between prenatal exposure mixtures and risk of teen birth, a manifestation of high-risk sexual activity, among 5865 girls (1st generation) born in southeast Massachusetts from 1992-1998.
Methods:
Exposures included prenatal modeled polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ρ,ρ'-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). We fit adjusted generalized additive models with multivariable smooths of exposure mixtures, 1st generation infant's birth year, and maternal age at 1st generation birth. Predicted odds ratios (ORs) for teen birth were mapped as a function of joint exposures. We also conducted sensitivity analyses among 1st generation girls with measured exposure biomarkers (n = 371).
Results:
The highest teen birth risk was associated with a mixture of high prenatal HCB, Hg, Pb, and PCB, but low DDE exposure, with similar associations in sensitivity analyses. The highest OR predicted for girls born in 1995 to mothers of median age (26 years) was at the 95th percentile of the HCB and PCB exposure distributions (OR = 3.09; 95% confidence interval: 0.29, 32.4). Additionally, girls born earlier in the study period or to teen mothers were at increased risk of teen birth.
Significance:
Prenatal environmental chemical exposures and sociodemographic characteristics may interact to substantially increase risk of teen births.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Teratogenicity
Gene-Environment Interactions
Regression Toward the Mean
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Environmental Influences on Intelligence

