Trihalomethanes in drinking water and adverse effects on pregnancy

Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia

Santos, Sônia Maria dos¹  Gouveia, Nelson¹ 

[1] Universidade de São Paulo

关键词: Trihalomethanes;    Low birthweight;    Preterm delivery;    Congenital anomalies;    Neural tube defects;    Nervous system defects;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1415-790X2011000100010

学科分类：过敏症与临床免疫学

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

This paper describesa cross-sectional study that aimed to evaluate the possible association betweenexposure to trihalomethanes present in public water supplies in the metropolitanregion of São Paulo and the occurrence of adverse outcomes in pregnancy.In order to perform the research, 19 municipalities located in the metropolitanarea of São Paulo that were supplied by only one water treatment plant,from 1998 to 2002, were selected. The starting point was the verification oftrihalomethane levels in public water supplies and the analysis of the prevalenceof low birth weight, preterm delivery, congenital anomalies, neural tube andnervous system defects in newborns of the municipalities that were involvedin the study, in order to analyze the association between exposure to trihalomethanesand the occurrence of adverse outcomes in pregnancy. The population that wasstudied consisted of all pregnant women and their newborn children who wereliving in the selected municipalities during the research period, and had theirbirth certificates registered in the Information System on Live Births (SINASC).The levels of trihalomethanes were treated as categories. The descriptive analysiswas followed by a univariate analysis and then by a multivariate analysis. Toexpress the possible associations of the research outcomes with trihalomethanes,the chi-square test was used followed by the estimation of odds-ratio with a95% confidence interval. Confounding variables were controlled through the analysisof unconditional multiple logistic regression, following the procedures of Hosmerand Lemeshow (2000). The variables that showed statistical significance (p <0.2) in univariate analysis were entered into the multivariate mode. The resultspointed out an association between possible risk of prematurity and malformationrelated to trihalomethanes, raising the need for in-depth studies, due to theimplications of that fact in public health. The results raise a discussion onthe relevant benefits of chlorination in comparison to the reduced risk of adverseoutcomes in pregnancy; they also suggest that better monitoring of trihalomethanelevels in public water supplies would be advisable.

【 授权许可】

CC BY