Study Reveals Link Between Pesticide Exposure And Increased Stillbirth Risk

New research suggested that living less than 0.3 miles from a pesticide use area before getting pregnant and throughout the first trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk of stillbirths.

Research by Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Centre.
Certain pesticides, particularly the class of organophosphates, were linked to stillbirth throughout the first trimester of pregnancy and a 90-day preconception window, according to research findings.

The study “Pesticide Exposure During the First Trimester and Its Associations With Stillbirth” was released in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

“In this study, some specific ingredients stood out due to their significant associations with stillbirth risk,” said first author Melissa Furlong, PhD, who studies the chronic health effects of environmental contaminants as an assistant professor and environmental epidemiologist at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and a member of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center at the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy.

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“These findings underscore the importance of considering individual pesticides rather than just the overall pesticide class, as specific chemical compounds may pose unique risks. It also highlights the potential for pre-pregnancy exposures to affect reproductive outcomes.”

To conduct the study, researchers linked Arizona pesticide use records for 27 different pesticides with state birth certificate data that included 1,237,750 births and 2,290 stillbirths from 2006 to 2020.
They found that living within .

31 miles (500 meters) of specific pyrethroid, organophosphate or carbamate pesticide applications during a 90-day pre-conception window or the first trimester was associated with an increased risk of stillbirth.

Specifically, the pesticides cyfluthrin, zeta-cypermethrin, organophosphates as a class, malathion, carbaryl and propamocarb hydrochloride were linked to increased stillborn births pre-conception. During the first trimester, fenpropathrin, permethrin, organophosphates as a class, acephate and formetanate hydrochloride were associated with stillbirths.

“Within the pyrethroid class, cyfluthrin exposure during the 90 days prior to conception almost doubled the risk of stillbirth.”

Pregnant women may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of pesticide exposure due to physiological changes during pregnancy, such as increased metabolic rate, altered hormone levels and changes in the immune system.

The developing fetus may be more susceptible to the toxic effects of pesticides during this period of rapid growth and development.

WITH INPUTS FROM ANI

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