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Symposium 7 – Reproductive Health and Endocrine Disruption at the Workplace
S07-2 Occupational exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and birth weight and length of gestation: a european meta-analysis
  1. Laura Birks1,2,3,
  2. Maribel Casas1,2,3,
  3. Ana M Garcia2,4,5,
  4. Jan Alexander6,
  5. Henrique Barros7,
  6. Anna Bergström8,
  7. Jens Peter Bonde9,
  8. Alex Burdorf10,
  9. Nathalie Costet11,
  10. Asta Danileviciute12,
  11. Merete Eggesbø6,
  12. Mariana F Fernández2,13,
  13. M Carmen González-Galarzo4,
  14. Regina Gražulevičienė12,
  15. Wojciech Hanke14,
  16. Vincent Jaddoe15,
  17. Manolis Kogevinas1,2,16,17,
  18. Inger Kull18,19,
  19. Aitana Lertxundi20,21,
  20. Vasiliki Melaki22,
  21. Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen23,
  22. Nicolás Olea2,13,
  23. Kinga Polanska14,
  24. Franca Rusconi24,
  25. Loreto Santa-Marina2,23,25,
  26. Ana Cristina Santos8,
  27. Tanja Vrijkotte26,
  28. Daniela Zugna27,
  29. Mark Nieuwenhuijsen1,2,3,
  30. Sylvaine Cordier11,
  31. Martine Vrijheid1,2,3
  1. 1ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona, Spain
  2. 2Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
  3. 3Consorcio De Investigación Biomédica De Epidemiología Y Salud Pública, Spain
  4. 4Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  5. 5Center for Research in Occupational Health, Barcelona, Spain
  6. 6Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
  7. 7Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal
  8. 8Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  9. 9Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark
  10. 10Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  11. 11National Institute of Health and Medical Research, InsermU1085 – Irset, University of Rennes, Rennes, France
  12. 12Department of Environmental Science, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
  13. 13Instituto De Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.Granada, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
  14. 14Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
  15. 15The Generation R Study Group, Department of Epidemiology, Department of Paediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  16. 16Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute; Barcelona, Spain
  17. 17National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece
  18. 18Sachs’ Children’s Hospital, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
  19. 19Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  20. 20Faculty of Medicine, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain
  21. 21BioDonostia Health Research Institute, San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain
  22. 22Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece
  23. 23Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  24. 24Meyer Children’s University Hospital, Florence, Italy
  25. 25Department of Health, Government of the Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain
  26. 26Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  27. 27Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Abstract

Background Women of reproductive age can be exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at work and exposure to EDCs in pregnancy may affect fetal growth.

Objectives We assessed whether maternal occupational exposure to EDCs during pregnancy as classified by application of a job exposure matrix was associated with birth weight, term low birth weight (LBW), length of gestation, and preterm delivery.

Methods Using individual participant data from 133,957 mother-child pairs in 13 European cohorts spanning births from 1994 to 2011, we linked maternal job titles with exposure to 10 EDC groups as assessed through a job exposure matrix. For each group, we combined the two levels of exposure categories (possible and probable) and compared birth outcomes with the unexposed group (exposure unlikely). We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates.

Results Eleven percent of pregnant women were classified as exposed to EDCs at work during pregnancy based on job title. Classification of exposure to one or more EDC group was associated with an increased risk of term LBW (OR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.49), as were most specific EDC groups; this association was consistent across cohorts. Further, the risk increased with increasing number of EDC groups (OR 2.11 95% CI: 1.10, 4.06 for exposure to 4 or more EDC groups). There were few associations (p < 0.05) with the other outcomes; women holding job titles classified as exposed to bisphenol A or brominated flame retardants were at higher risk for longer length of gestation.

Conclusion Results from our large population-based birth cohort design indicate that employment during pregnancy in occupations classified as possibly or probably exposed to EDCs was associated with an increased risk of term LBW.

Correction notice This abstract has been corrected since it was first published. The author list has been corrected.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-103951.285

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