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Maternal pesticide exposure from multiple sources and selected congenital anomalies
G M Shaw1, C R Wasserman, C D O'Malley
1March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, California Birth Defects Monitoring Program, Emeryville 94608, USA.
Insights
Maternal pesticide exposure, particularly from household gardening or proximity to crops, may increase risks for certain congenital anomalies. Further research is needed to confirm these findings due to data limitations.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Reproductive Epidemiology
- Teratology
Background:
- Periconceptional exposure to pesticides is a potential risk factor for congenital anomalies.
- Understanding specific exposure sources is crucial for risk assessment and prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between various maternal periconceptional pesticide exposures and offspring congenital anomalies.
- To identify specific pesticide exposure sources linked to orofacial clefts, neural tube defects, conotruncal defects, and limb anomalies.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 1987-1989 California births and fetal deaths.
- Telephone interviews with mothers of cases (orofacial clefts, neural tube defects, conotruncal defects, limb anomalies) and non-malformed controls.
- Assessment of maternal and paternal occupational pesticide exposure, household gardening pesticide use, pest control, proximity to agricultural areas, and pet flea treatment.
Main Results:
- Maternal occupational pesticide exposure showed no increased risk for studied anomalies.
- Paternal occupational exposure was linked to increased risk for specific cleft phenotypes.
- Household gardening pesticide use was associated with increased risks for most studied anomalies.
- Professional pest control in homes was linked to increased risks for neural tube defects and limb anomalies.
- Living near agricultural crops was associated with increased risk for neural tube defects.
Conclusions:
- Household gardening pesticide use and proximity to agricultural areas may be associated with increased risks for certain congenital anomalies.
- Limitations include sparse data, imprecise effect estimation, potential exposure misclassification, and recall bias.
- More specific information on pesticide type and exposure levels is needed to validate findings.
Abstract:
We explored the relation between various potential sources of maternal periconceptional pregnancy exposures to pesticides and congenital anomalies in offspring. Data were derived from a case-control study of fetuses and liveborn infants with orofacial clefts, neural tube defects, conotruncal defects, or limb anomalies, among 1987-1989 California births and fetal deaths. We conducted telephone interviews with mothers of 662 (85% of eligible) orofacial cleft cases, 265 (84%) neural tube defect cases, 207 (87%) conotruncal defect cases, 165 (84%) limb cases, and 734 (78%) nonmalformed controls. The odds ratio (OR) estimates did not indicate increased risk for any of the studied anomaly groups among women whose self-reported occupational tasks were considered by an industrial hygienist likely to involve pesticide exposures. Paternal occupational exposure to pesticides, as reported by the mother, revealed elevated ORs for only two of the cleft phenotypes [OR = 1.7 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.9-3.4] for multiple cleft lip with/without cleft palate and OR = 1.6 [95% CI = 0.7-3.4] for multiple cleft palate]. Use of pesticide products for household gardening, by mothers or by professional applicators, was associated with ORs > or =1.5 for most of the studied anomalies. Use of pesticide products for the control of pests in or around homes was not associated with elevated risks for most of the studied anomalies, although women who reported that a professional applied pesticides to their homes had increased risks for neural tube defect-affected pregnancies [OR = 1.6 (95% CI = 1.1-2.5)] and limb anomalies [OR = 1.6 (95% CI = 1.0-2.7)]. Having a pet cat or dog and treating its fleas was not associated with increased anomaly risk. Women who reported living within 0.25 miles of an agricultural crop revealed increased risks for offspring with neural tube defects [OR = 1.5 (95%CI = 1.1-2.1)]. For many of the comparisons, data were sparse, resulting in imprecise effect estimation. Despite our investigating multiple sources of potential pesticide exposures, without more specific information on chemical and level of exposure, we could not adequately discriminate whether the observed effects are valid, whether biased exposure reporting contributed to the observed elevated risks, or whether nonspecific measurement of exposure was responsible for many of the observed estimated risks not being elevated.