Occupational and Environmental Health

Pesticide exposure has been linked with adverse reproductive outcomes (ARO) in some, but not all, previous studies. This lack of consensus is due in part to methodologic concerns in such studies including small numbers of exposed individuals, lengthy recall periods, and lack of valid exposure assessment. The goal of this proposed project is to investigate selected ARO – early fetal loss, stillbirths, pre-term birth, small-for-gestational-age birth, low birth weight, and congenital malformations – among female greenhouse workers in Poland. Initially, we propose to conduct a pilot study to develop and evaluate methods to collect environmental and genetic data from an equal number (n=100) of female workers employed in greenhouses (exposed) and female workers not employed in greenhouses, but living in a rural area (unexposed). Environmental data will be collected by mail using self-administered questionnaires. Genetic data will be acquired by mail using buccal cell collection. Findings from a study in Iowa showed this to be a cost- and time-efficient design that families can complete virtually unassisted. To identify the contribution of pesticide exposure to the occurrence of ARO, the independent effect of maternal peri-conceptual exposure to pesticides will be examined. Secondly, maternal and infant candidate gene data will be incorporated with maternal exposure data to examine the joint risk of genes and pesticide exposure as risk factors for ARO. This comprehensive approach will advance the knowledge of the contribution of pesticide exposure to the occurrence of ARO’s and will provide preliminary data for future proposals.