Living less than about one-third of a mile from pesticide use prior to conception and during early pregnancy could increase the risk of stillbirths, according to new research led by researchers at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center. Researchers found that during a 90-day pre-conception window and the first trimester of pregnancy, select pesticides, including organophosphates as a class, were associated with stillbirth. The paper, "Pre-Conception And First Trimester Exposure To Pesticides And Associations With Stillbirth," was published 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. "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 include.