Maternal residential exposure to agricultural pesticides and birth defects in a 2003 to 2005 North Carolina birth cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Birth defects are responsible for a large proportion of disability and infant mortality. Exposure to a variety of pesticides have been linked to increased risk of birth defects.

Methods

We conducted a case-control study to estimate the associations between a residence-based metric of agricultural pesticide exposure and birth defects. We linked singleton live birth records for 2003 to 2005 from the North Carolina (NC) State Center for Health Statistics to data from the NC Birth Defects Monitoring Program. Included women had residence at delivery inside NC and infants with gestational ages from 20 to 44 weeks (n = 304,906). Pesticide exposure was assigned using a previously constructed metric, estimating total chemical exposure (pounds of active ingredient) based on

SUBMITTER: Rappazzo KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4833532 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature