Maternal Mercury Exposure, Season of Conception and Adverse Birth Outcomes in an Urban Immigrant Community in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A

Cynthia J. Bashore, Laura A. Geer, Xin He, Robin Puett, Patrick J. Parsons, Christopher D. Palmer, Amy J. Steuerwald, Ovadia Abulafia, Mudar Dalloul and Amir Sapkota
Additional contact information
Cynthia J. Bashore: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, Room 2234F, College Park, MD 20742–2611, USA
Laura A. Geer: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Downstate School of Public Health, State University of New York, Box 43,450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11203–2533, USA
Xin He: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health, 2234H SPH Building, College Park, MD 20742–2611, USA
Robin Puett: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, Room 2234F, College Park, MD 20742–2611, USA
Patrick J. Parsons: Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth Center, Department of Health, New York State University, Albany, NY 12201–0509, USA
Christopher D. Palmer: Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth Center, Department of Health, New York State University, Albany, NY 12201–0509, USA
Amy J. Steuerwald: Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Wadsworth Center, Department of Health, New York State University, Albany, NY 12201–0509, USA
Ovadia Abulafia: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, 445 Lenox Road, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA
Mudar Dalloul: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, 445 Lenox Road, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA
Amir Sapkota: Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, Room 2234F, College Park, MD 20742–2611, USA

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-29

Abstract: Adverse birth outcomes including preterm birth (PTB: <37 weeks gestation) and low birth weight (LBW: <2500 g) can result in severe infant morbidity and mortality. In the United States, there are racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence of PTB and LBW. We investigated the association between PTB and LBW with prenatal mercury (Hg) exposure and season of conception in an urban immigrant community in Brooklyn, New York. We recruited 191 pregnant women aged 18–45 in a Brooklyn Prenatal Clinic and followed them until delivery. Urine specimens were collected from the participants during the 6th to 9th month of pregnancy. Cord blood specimens and neonate anthropometric data were collected at birth. We used multivariate logistic regression models to investigate the odds of LBW or PTB with either maternal urinary mercury or neonate cord blood mercury. We used linear regression models to investigate the association between continuous anthropometric outcomes and maternal urinary mercury or neonate cord blood mercury. We also examined the association between LBW and PTB and the season that pregnancy began. Results showed higher rates of PTB and LBW in this cohort of women compared to other studies. Pregnancies beginning in winter (December, January, February) were at increased odds of LBW births compared with births from pregnancies that began in all other months (OR7.52 [95% CI 1.65, 34.29]). We observed no association between maternal exposure to Hg, and either LBW or PTB. The apparent lack of association is consistent with other studies. Further examination of seasonal association with LBW is warranted.

Keywords: preterm birth; low birth weight; mercury; season of conception; urban immigrant (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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