MATERNAL OCCUPATION IN AGRICULTURE AND CONGENITAL MALFORMATION OF THE NERVOUS SISTEM IN OFFSPRING: A POPULATION-BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY IN SOUTHEST, BRAZIL
Maternal occupation in agriculture has been associated with congenital malformation of the nervous system, where the exposure to pesticide is the main hypothesis. Brazil is one of the most important consumers of pesticide around the world, nevertheless, researches that evaluate the pesticide impacts in the human health are scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the association among maternal occupation in agriculture and congenital malformation of nervous system in offspring.
METHODS:
This is a population-based case-control study. Data were obtained by Brazilian’s information system on live births (SINASC). Cases (n=336) were women with age between 20 and 49 years, living in the southeast region of Brazil, diagnosed with congenital malformation of the nervous system in their offspring in 2011. Controls (n=1348) were women with the same age and residence that were not diagnosed with congenital malformation in their offspring in the same year. The exposure assessment was performed through information of maternal occupation in agriculture. Logistic regression models with an interval of confidence of 95% were estimated and adjusted by age, sex, week of gestation, weight birth and number of children.
RESULTS:
Anencephaly and hydrocephaly were more prevalent in offspring with maternal occupation in agriculture. Newborns whose mothers had agricultural occupation indicated in the SINASC have doubled their chance to have congenital malformation of the nervous system (ORaj: 2.13 95%CI 1.02-4.41). Newborns with low weight birth had five times more chance to have congenital malformation of the nervous system (ORaj: 5.63 95%IC 3.91-8.09).
CONCLUSIONS:
Maternal occupation in agriculture showed positive association with congenital malformation of the nervous system in offspring. This study corroborates the hypothesis that environmental exposure, mainly pesticides, could be a relevant risk factor to develop congenital malformation of the nervous system.