Title: Pesticide concentrations in maternal and umbilical cord sera and their relation to birth outcomes in a population of pregnant women and newborns in New Jersey.
Authors: Barr, Dana Boyd; Ananth, Cande V; Yan, Xiaoyong; Lashley, Susan; Smulian, John C; Ledoux, Thomas A; Hore, Paromita; Robson, Mark G
Published In Sci Total Environ, (2010 Jan 15)
Abstract: We evaluated in utero exposures to pesticides by measuring maternal and cord serum biomarkers in a New Jersey cohort of pregnant women and the birth outcomes of their neonates. The study was based on 150 women that underwent an elective cesarean delivery at term in a hospital in central New Jersey. We evaluated the following pesticide compounds in both maternal and umbilical cord sera: chlorpyrifos, diazinon, carbofuran, chlorothalonil, dacthal, metolachlor, trifluralin and diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET). Of these compounds, chlorpyrifos, carbofuran, chlorothalonil, trifluralin, metolachlor and DEET were the pesticides most frequently detected in the serum samples. We found high (> or =75th percentile) metolachlor concentrations in cord blood that were related to birth weight (3605 g in upper quartile vs 3399 g; p=0.05). We also observed an increase in abdominal circumference with increasing cord dichloran concentrations (p=0.031). These observations suggest that in utero exposures to certain pesticides may alter birth outcomes.
PubMed ID: 19900697
MeSH Terms: No MeSH terms associated with this publication