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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Associations between prenatal arsenic exposure with adverse pregnancy outcome and child mortality.

Authors: Shih, Yu-Hsuan; Islam, Tariqul; Hore, Samar Kumar; Sarwar, Golam; Shahriar, Mohammad Hasan; Yunus, Mohammad; Graziano, Joseph H; Harjes, Judith; Baron, John A; Parvez, Faruque; Ahsan, Habibul; Argos, Maria

Published In Environ Res, (2017 Oct)

Abstract: Chronic arsenic exposure is a public health concern in many parts of the world, with elevated concentrations in groundwater posing a threat to millions of people. Arsenic is associated with various cancers and an array of chronic diseases; however, the relationship with adverse pregnancy outcomes and child mortality is less established.We evaluated associations between individual-level prenatal arsenic exposure with adverse pregnancy outcomes and child mortality in a pregnancy study among 498 women nested in a larger population-based cohort in rural Bangladesh.Creatinine-adjusted urinary total arsenic concentration, a comprehensive measure of exposure from water, food, and air sources, reflective of the prenatal period was available for participants. Self-reported pregnancy outcomes (livebirth, stillbirth, spontaneous/elective abortion) were ascertained. Generalized estimating equations, accounting for multiple pregnancies of participants, were used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals in relation to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Vital status of livebirths was subsequently ascertained through November 2015. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals in relation to child mortality.We observed a significant association between prenatal arsenic exposure and the risk of stillbirth (greater than median; adjusted OR = 2.50; 95% CI = 1.04, 6.01). We also observed elevated risk of child mortality (greater than median; adjusted HR = 1.92; 95% CI = 0.78, 4.68) in relation to prenatal arsenic exposure.Prospective studies should continue to evaluate prenatal and early life health effects of arsenic exposure and arsenic remediation strategies for women of child-bearing age.

PubMed ID: 28692928 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Abortion, Spontaneous/chemically induced; Abortion, Spontaneous/epidemiology; Abortion, Therapeutic; Adult; Arsenic/toxicity*; Arsenic/urine; Bangladesh/epidemiology; Child; Child Mortality*; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Maternal Exposure/adverse effects*; Odds Ratio; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome*; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/chemically induced; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/epidemiology*; Proportional Hazards Models; Stillbirth/epidemiology; Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity*; Water Pollutants, Chemical/urine

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