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PRELIMINARY EXPLORATION OF FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AIR QUALITY AND THE RISK OF CARDIAC VENTRICULAR SEPTAL DEFECTS, TEXAS, 2000
Citation:
GILBOA, S., P. MENDOLA, A. F. OLSHAN, P. LANGLOIS, D. SAVITZ, D. P. LOOMIS, A. H. HERRING, AND D. E. FIXLER. PRELIMINARY EXPLORATION OF FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AIR QUALITY AND THE RISK OF CARDIAC VENTRICULAR SEPTAL DEFECTS, TEXAS, 2000. Presented at Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON, CANADA, June 26 - 27, 2005.
Description:
Exposure to sulfur dioxide (SO2) during weeks three through eight of pregnancy increased risk for ventricular septal defects in a population-based case-control study of air quality and birth defects in seven Texas counties between 1997 and 2000. As a follow-back, a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) was conducted with a sample of mothers from the original study who delivered in the year 2000. Among mothers with an SO2 exposure estimate who were located (non-malformed controls: 182/614, 30%; ventricular septal defect cases: 129/311, 41%), we interviewed 43 control mothers (24%) and 51 case mothers (40%) who did not change residence during pregnancy. Despite low participation rates, the interviewed sample appeared representative of the larger case-control population. Likelihood ratio tests and stratified models were used to explore effect modification by maternal vitamin use before and during pregnancy; time spent outdoors, in a vehicle, and exercising outdoors; maternal smoking; and environmental tobacco smoke exposure. As in the original study, SO2 exposure was associated with increased risk for ventricular septal defects (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.19; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.00, 1.43 per 1 ppb increase in SO2). Time spent in a vehicle seemed to modify this association (less than 2 hours per weekday in a vehicle, adjusted OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 0.88, 1.35; 2 or more hours per weekday in a vehicle, adjusted OR = 1.51; 1.01, 2.24). Vitamin use before or during pregnancy, active smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke exposure did not appear to modify this association in a meaningful way. Additional analyses are on-going to explore relationships with other pollutants. (This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.)