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Published May 6, 2016 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Occupational Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Birth Weight and Length of Gestation: A European Meta-Analysis

Creators

  • 1. ISGlobal, Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona, Spain; Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
  • 2. Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Center for Research in Occupational Health, Barcelona, Spain
  • 3. Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
  • 4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal
  • 5. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 6. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 7. Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
  • 8. National Institute of Health and Medical Research, InsermU1085 – Irset, University of Rennes, Rennes, France
  • 9. Department of Environmental Science, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
  • 10. Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
  • 11. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  • 12. Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
  • 13. The Generation R Study Group, Department of Epidemiology, Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
  • 14. ISGlobal, Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona, Spain; Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain; Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain; National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece
  • 15. Sachs’ Children’s Hospital, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 16. Faculty of Medicine, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; BioDonostia Health Research Institute, San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain
  • 17. Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece
  • 18. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 19. Meyer Children’s University Hospital, Florence, Italy
  • 20. Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain; Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Health, Government of the Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain
  • 21. Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • 22. Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Description

  • Background: Women of reproductive age can be exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at work and exposure to EDCs in pregnancy may affect fetal growth.

    Objectives: We assessed whether maternal occupational exposure to EDCs during pregnancy as classified by application of a job exposure matrix was associated with birth weight, term low birth weight (LBW), length of gestation, and preterm delivery.

    Methods: Using individual participant data from 133,957 mother-child pairs in 13 European cohorts spanning births from 1994 to 2011, we linked maternal job titles with exposure to 10 EDC groups as assessed through a job exposure matrix. For each group, we combined the two levels of exposure categories (possible and probable) and compared birth outcomes with the unexposed group (exposure unlikely). We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates.

    Results: Eleven percent of pregnant women were classified as exposed to EDCs at work during pregnancy based on job title. Classification of exposure to one or more EDC group was associated with an increased risk of term LBW (OR 1.25, 95%CI 1.04, 1.49), as were most specific EDC groups; this association was consistent across cohorts. Further, the risk increased with increasing number of EDC groups (OR 2.11 95%CI 1.10, 4.06 for exposure to 4 or more EDC groups). There were few associations (p < 0.05) with the other outcomes; women holding job titles classified as exposed to bisphenol A or brominated flame retardants were at higher risk for longer length of gestation.

    Conclusion: Results from our large population-based birth cohort design indicate that employment during pregnancy in occupations classified as possibly or probably exposed to EDCs was associated with an increased risk of term LBW.

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Additional details

Funding

HEALS – Health and Environment-wide Associations based on Large population Surveys 603946
European Commission