Air toxics and birth defects: a Bayesian hierarchical approach to evaluate multiple pollutants and spina bifida.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While there is evidence that maternal exposure to benzene is associated with spina bifida in offspring, to our knowledge there have been no assessments to evaluate the role of multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) simultaneously on the risk of this relatively common birth defect. In the current study, we evaluated the association between maternal exposure to HAPs identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and spina bifida in offspring using hierarchical Bayesian modeling that includes Stochastic Search Variable Selection (SSVS).

Methods

The Texas Birth Defects Registry provided data on spina bifida cases delivered between 1999 and 2004. The control group was a random sample of unaffected live births, frequency matched to cases on

SUBMITTER: Swartz MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4429479 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature