Congenital Anomalies in Contaminated Sites: A Multisite Study in Italy

Michele Santoro, Fabrizio Minichilli, Anna Pierini, Gianni Astolfi, Lucia Bisceglia, Pietro Carbone, Susanna Conti, Gabriella Dardanoni, Ivano Iavarone, Paolo Ricci, Gioacchino Scarano, Fabrizio Bianchi and RiscRipro_Sentieri Working Group
Additional contact information
Michele Santoro: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Fabrizio Minichilli: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Anna Pierini: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Gianni Astolfi: Registro IMER, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Chirurgico Specialistiche dell’Università di Ferrara, 44100 Ferrara, Italy
Lucia Bisceglia: Agenzia Regionale Sanitaria della Puglia, 70100 Bari, Italy
Pietro Carbone: National Center for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Susanna Conti: Unit of Statistics, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Gabriella Dardanoni: Osservatorio Epidemiologico Regionale, Assessorato Salute Regione Siciliana, 90145 Palermo, Italy
Ivano Iavarone: Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Paolo Ricci: Epidemiological Unit, NHS Mantua, 46100 Mantua, Italy
Gioacchino Scarano: Program Director Birth Defects Registry of Campania, UO Genetica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera G.Rummo, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Fabrizio Bianchi: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Unit of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, 56124 Pisa, Italy

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: The health impact on populations residing in industrially contaminated sites (CSs) is recognized as a public health concern especially in relation to more vulnerable population subgroups. The aim of this study was to estimate the risk of congenital anomalies (CAs) in Italian CSs. Thirteen CSs covered by regional CA registries were investigated in an ecological study. The observed/expected ratios (O/E) with 90% confidence intervals (CI) for the total and specific subgroups of CAs were calculated using the regional areas as references. For the CSs with waste landfills, petrochemicals, and refineries, pooled estimates were calculated. The total number of observed cases of CAs was 7085 out of 288,184 births (prevalence 245.8 per 10,000). For some CSs, excesses for several CA subgroups were observed, in particular for genital and heart defects. The excess of genital CAs observed in Gela (O/E 2.36; 90% CI 1.73–3.15) is consistent with findings from other studies. For CSs including petrochemical and landfills, the pooled risk estimates were 1.10 (90% CI 1.01–1.19) and 1.07 (90% CI 1.02–1.13), respectively. The results are useful in identifying priority areas for analytical investigations and in supporting the promotion of policies for the primary prevention of CAs. The use of short-latency effect indicators is recommended for the health surveillance of the populations residing in CSs.

Keywords: contaminated sites; congenital anomalies; epidemiological surveillance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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