Title
Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy and Low Birth Weight
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
Description
Background: Limited epidemiologic studies have investigated the effects of pesticide exposure during pregnancy on low birth weight in offspring in rural China.
Methods: A survey of a total of 503 women was conducted in Ling county of Shandong Province of China following delivery from 1 November 2009 to 8 February 2010.
Results: After adjustment for confounding and compared with no pesticide exposure, multiple logistic regression showed a non-significant increased likelihood of low birth weight for both children of mothers exposed to pesticides when not pregnant (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 0.62, 5.22) and mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy (OR = 2.42, 95% CI: 0.73, 8.08); multiple linear regression showed a non-significant reduced birth weight for both children of mothers exposed to pesticides when not pregnant (β=–0.59, p=0.28) and mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy (β=–0.89, p=0.15).
Conclusions: Exposure to pesticides during pregnancy was associated with a non-significant increase in low birth weight in this rural Chinese population. Future studies using larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are warranted.
Citation Information
Wang, Liang; Wu, Tiejian; Liu, Xuefeng; Anderson, James Li; Alamian, Arsham; Fu, Maosun; and Li, Jun. 2012. Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy and Low Birth Weight. WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health. Vol.1(3). 232. https://doi.org/10.4103/2224-3151.207019 ISSN: 2224-3151