Background: Several studies have reported decreases in birth size associated with exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs), but uncertainties remain regarding the critical windows of prenatal exposure and the effects on fetal body segments.
Objective: We examined the relationship between prenatal OC concentrations and fetal anthropometry.
Methods: We measured 4,4´-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (4,4´-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (138, 153, and 180) in 2,369 maternal and 1,140 cord serum samples in four Spanish cohorts (2003–2008). We used linear mixed models to obtain longitudinal growth curves for estimated fetal weight (EFW), abdominal circumference (AC), biparietal diameter (BPD), and femur length (FL) adjusted by parental and fetal characteristics. We calculated standard deviation (SD) scores of growth at 0–12, 12–20, and 20–34 weeks of gestation as well as size at gestational week 34 for the four parameters. We studied the association between OCs and the fetal outcomes by cohort-specific linear models and subsequent meta-analyses.
Results: PCBs were associated with a reduction in AC up to mid-pregnancy, and BPD and FL from gestational week 20 onward. An inverse association was also found between HCB and AC growth in early pregnancy. The reduction of these parameters ranged from –4% to –2% for a doubling in the OC concentrations. No association between 4,4´-DDE and fetal growth was observed.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between prenatal exposure to some PCBs and HCB and fetal growth: AC during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, and BPD and FL later in pregnancy.
1Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, Valencia, Spain; 2Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain; 3Nursing Department, School of Nursing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; 4Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Oviedo, Spain; 5Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; 6Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London (UK), London, United Kingdom; 7Department of Epidemiology, Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Basque Government, Gipuzkoa, Spain; 8Health Research Institute, Biodonostia, San Sebastian, Spain; 9Preventive Medicine and Public Health Department, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain; 10Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; 11Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; 12Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Centre–Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 13Public Health Laboratory, Basque Government, San Sebastian, Spain
Recommended Citation:
Maria-Jose Lopez-Espinosa,1,2 Mario Murcia,et al. Organochlorine Compounds and Ultrasound Measurements of Fetal Growth in the INMA Cohort (Spain)[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2016-01-01,Volume 124(Issue 1):157