Residential Formaldehyde Exposure and the Risk of Congenital Heart Malformations

Abstract

ISEE-228 Objective: There is some evidence that environmental air pollution might have influence on the risk of congenital heart malformations. The objective of our study was to estimate the risk of congenital heart malformations in different residential formaldehyde exposure levels. Material and Methods: We conducted the population-based case-control study among newborns of the Kaunas city, Lithuania, in 1999 to 2005. We compared 178 congenital heart malformations cases and 479 healthy controls by questionnaire information on sociodemographic characteristics, reproductive and maternal medical history, smoking, and occupational chemical exposures. We estimated annual means of formaldehyde concentrations in the residential districts and divided it into tertiles. We used the logistic regression analysis for the calculations of the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: After adjustment for maternal smoking, medical history, occupational chemical exposures, and residential hazards, the odds ratio of congenital heart malformations in the third residential formaldehyde exposure tertile was 1.27; 95% CI 0.62 to 2.59 as compared with the first tertile. Conclusions: Residential formaldehyde exposure showed a tendency for increased congenital heart malformations risk. Solving environmental problems of ambient air pollution would benefit in reducing the risk of childhood malformations.