Reduced birthweight and length in the offspring of females exposed to PCDFs, PCP, and lindane

The objective of this study was to investigate a broad range of adverse health outcomes and their potential association to wood preservative used in daycare centers. This article focuses on reproductive effects. A sample of 221 exposed teachers was provided by the employer's liability insurers. A comparison group (n = 189) insured by the same two organizations was recruited from nonexposed daycare centers. In a face-to-face interview, job history and reproductive history of 398 female teachers were ascertained. Data on exposure were provided, including measurements on concentration of pentachlorophenol (PCP) and lindane in wood panels, and of PCP, lindane, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in indoor air. An exposure matrix based on individual job history, independent exposure information from each center, and reproductive history was set up with regard to the vulnerable time windows for each pregnancy. Using this approach, 49 exposed and 507 nonexposed pregnancies were identified, including 32 exposed and 386 nonexposed live births. For subgroup analyses the observations were restricted to independent pregnancies, excluding multiple and consecutive births. The data were analyzed with linear regression techniques, taking confounders into account. The crude median difference between exposed and nonexposed was 175 g in birthweight and 2 cm in length. Controlling for confounders, the results show a significantly reduced birthweight (p = 0.04) and length (p = 0.02) in exposed pregnancies, even after restricting the data to independent pregnancies and pregnancies for which data could be validated from the mother's health cards. These differences were not explained by differences in gestational age, indicating that a toxic effect, which could cause small-for-date newborns, might have affected the fetus.