Comparison of Individual-level and Ecologic Studies of the Association of Drinking Water Contaminants on Adverse Birth Outcomes

Atrazine, a common water contaminant in the U.S., has been associated with adverse birth outcomes in previous studies. This study aimed to determine if atrazine concentrations in drinking water are associated with adverse birth outcomes including small for gestational age (SGA), term low birth weight (term LBW), very low birth weight (VLBW), preterm birth (PTB), and very preterm birth (VPTB). This study included 14,445 live singleton births from Ohio communities served by 22 water systems enrolled in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Atrazine Monitoring Program between 2006 and 2008. Mean gestational and trimester-specific atrazine concentrations were calculated. Significantly increased odds of term LBW birth was associated with atrazine exposure over the entire gestational period (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10, 1.45), as well as the first (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08, 1.34) and second trimesters (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07, 1.20) of pregnancy. We observed no evidence of an association between atrazine exposure via drinking water and SGA, VLBW, PTB, or VPTB. Our results suggest that atrazine exposure is associated with reduced birth weight among term infants and that exposure to atrazine in drinking water in early and mid-pregnancy may be most critical for its toxic effects on the fetus.

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Drinking water chlorination and adverse birth outcomes in Taiwan

Toxicology ◽

10.1016/j.tox.2004.01.032 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 198 (1-3) ◽

pp. 249-254 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Chun-Yuh Yang

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Water Chlorination

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Haloacetic acids in public drinking water and risk of adverse birth outcomes in the Born in Bradford cohort

ISEE Conference Abstracts ◽

10.1289/isee.2013.o-1-42-02 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 (1) ◽

pp. 5063 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susan C Edwards ◽

Nicky Best ◽

Rachel Smith ◽

Emily Petherick ◽

John Wright ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

Haloacetic Acids ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Born In Bradford ◽

Public Drinking Water ◽

Public Drinking

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Spatial patterns of adverse birth outcomes among black and white women in Massachusetts – the role of population-level and individual-level factors

GEOGRAPHY ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY ◽

10.24057/2071-9388-2019-51 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 99-106

Author(s):

Yelena A. Ogneva-Himmelberger ◽

Madeline Haynes

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

White Women ◽

Population Level ◽

Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽

Black Mothers ◽

Care Providers ◽

Individual Level ◽

Black And White ◽

White Mothers

This study explores spatial distribution of adverse birth outcomes (ABO), defined as low birth weight (<=2500 g) and preterm deliveries (gestational age <37 weeks), in black and white mothers in the state of Massachusetts, USA. It uses 817877 individual birth records from 2000-2014 aggregated to census tracts (census enumeration unit with population of approximately 4500 people). To account for small numbers of births in some tracts, an Empirical Bayes smoother algorithm is used to calculate ABO rates. The study applies ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatial regression to examine the relationship between ABO rates, seven individual-level factors from birth certificates and nine population-level factors (income level, education level, race) from census data. Explanatory power of these factors varies between the two races. In models based only on individual-level factors, all seven factors were significant (p<0.05) in the black mothers’ model while only three were significant in the white mothers’ model. Models based only on population-level variables produced better results for the white mothers than for black mothers. Models that included both individual and population-level variables explained 40% and 29% of ABO variance for black and white women respectively. The findings from this study give health-care providers and health-care policy-makers important information regarding ABO rates and the contributing factors at a local level, thus enabling them to isolate specific areas with the highest need for targeted interventions.

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