Impact on fetal growth of prenatal exposure to pesticides due to agricultural activities: a prospective cohort study in Brittany, France

Environmental Health

Research

Gaël Durand¹  Christine Monfort²  Claire Petit²  Sylvaine Cordier²  Cécile Chevrier²  Florence Rouget³  Ronan Garlantezec⁴ 

[1] IDHESA, Technopôle de Brest-Iroise, BP 52, 120 avenue A. de Rochon, 29280, Plouzané, France;Inserm U625, GERHM, IFR140, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042, Rennes, France;Inserm U625, GERHM, IFR140, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042, Rennes, France;"Bien naître en Ille-et-Vilaine" Perinatal network, Aile de direction - Hôtel-Dieu CHU, 2 rue de l'Hôtel-Dieu, CS 26419, 35064, Rennes CEDEX, France;Inserm U625, GERHM, IFR140, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042, Rennes, France;Public Health department, CHU de Brest-Hôpital Morvan, Avenue Foch, 29200, Brest, France;

关键词: Agricultural Activity;    Early Pregnancy;    Fetal Growth;    Head Circumference;    Potato Crop;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1476-069X-9-71

 received in 2010-07-29, accepted in 2010-11-15,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPesticide use is widespread in agriculture. Several studies have shown that pesticides used in agricultural fields can contaminate the domestic environment and thus be an important source of pesticide exposure of populations residing nearby. Epidemiological studies that have examined the health effects of in utero pesticide exposure from residence near agricultural activities suggest adverse effects, but the results are inconsistent. Our purpose was to investigate the effect on intrauterine growth of such exposure due to agricultural activities in the residential municipality.MethodsA prospective birth cohort recruited 3421 pregnant women in a French agricultural region (Brittany, 2002-2006) through gynecologists, ultrasonographers, and maternity hospitals during routine prenatal care visits before 19 weeks of gestation. The national agricultural census in 2000 provided the percentages of the municipality area devoted to cultivation of corn, wheat, colza, peas, potatoes, and fresh vegetables.ResultsBirth weight and the risk of fetal growth restriction were not associated with agricultural activities in the municipality of residence in early pregnancy. Children whose mother lived in a municipality where peas were grown had a smaller head circumference at birth than those in municipalities not growing peas (-0.2 cm, p = 0.0002). Head circumference also tended to be lower when wheat was grown, but not to a statistically significant degree (p-trend = 0.10). Risk of an infant with a small head circumference was higher for mothers living in a municipality where peas (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.2-3.6) or potatoes (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 0.9-2.4) were grown.ConclusionsAgricultural activities in the municipality of residence may have negative effects on cranial growth. Cultivation of pea crops and, to a lesser degree, potato and wheat crops, may negatively affect head circumference. Insecticides, including organophosphate insecticides, were applied to most of the area devoted to pea and potato crops; this was less true for corn and wheat crops. These results must be interpreted in light of the study's limitations, in particular, the scale at which we could assess pesticide exposure.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Petit et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010