Residential exposure to pesticides and birth outcomes using the Dutch birth registry

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To explore associations between residential exposure to specific pesticides and birth outcomes using individual level exposure and pregnancy/birth data. METHODS: From all singleton births from 2009-2013 in the Dutch birth registry we selected mothers >16 years-old living in non-urban areas that had complete address history and changed addresses at most once during pregnancy (N=325,435). We selected 12 active ingredients (AIs) with some evidence of reproductive toxicity and that were used in the Netherlands according to a farmers’ survey from 2008 and explored a further 127 AIs. We estimated amount used (kg) within buffers of 50, 100, 250 and 500 meters around each mother's home during pregnancy. We used generalized linear models to investigate associations between AIs and gestational age, birth weight, low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), still births/infant mortality, and prematurity, adjusting for individual and area-level confounders. We further used minimax concave penalty with a stability selection step to identify which AIs could further be related to the birth outcomes among the 12 and the additional 127 AIs. RESULTS: Maternal residential exposure to linuron was associated with increased birth weight [β [95% confidence interval] 296.49 [56.07, 536.90], 74.32 [27.92, 120.72], 13.87 [6.86, 20.88] and 1.93 [0.56, 3.30], in 50m, 100m, 250m and 500m buffers) and higher odds of LGA babies (OR [95% CI] 5.72 [1.04, 31.58], 1.49 [1.06, 2.08], 1.07 [1.02, 1.13], 1.01 [1.00, 1.02], respectively). Variable selection also yielded the same associations, and further identified signals for a relationship between fluroxypir-meptyl and gestational age, picoxystrobin and LGA, and glufosinate and LBW. CONCLUSIONS: Residential proximity to linuron during pregnancy was associated to increased birth weight and being large for gestational in babies. Other possible associations were identified that need further investigation. KEYWORDS: residential pesticide exposure, birth registry