Geospatial association between adverse birth outcomes and arsenic in groundwater in New Hampshire, USA
| Autor: | Stephanie I Miller, Xun Shi, Tracy Onega, Akikazu Onda, Diane Gilbert-Diamond, John B. Moeschler, Judy R. Rees, Margaret R. Karagas, Joseph D. Ayotte, Jiang Gui |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Environmental Engineering Population chemistry.chemical_element Article Arsenic Young Adult Geochemistry and Petrology Pregnancy medicine Environmental Chemistry Birth Weight Humans New Hampshire Young adult education Groundwater General Environmental Science Water Science and Technology education.field_of_study Arsenic toxicity Drinking Water Environmental engineering Age Factors Infant Newborn Pregnancy Outcome General Medicine Middle Aged medicine.disease Arsenic contamination of groundwater Low birth weight Geography chemistry Household income Premature Birth Female medicine.symptom Demography |
| Zdroj: | Environmental geochemistry and health. 37(2) |
| ISSN: | 1573-2983 |
| Popis: | There is increasing evidence of the role of arsenic in the etiology of adverse human reproductive outcomes. Because drinking water can be a major source of arsenic to pregnant women, the effect of arsenic exposure through drinking water on human birth may be revealed by a geospatial association between arsenic concentration in groundwater and birth problems, particularly in a region where private wells substantially account for water supply, like New Hampshire, USA. We calculated town-level rates of preterm birth and term low birth weight (term LBW) for New Hampshire, by using data for 1997-2009 stratified by maternal age. We smoothed the rates by using a locally weighted averaging method to increase the statistical stability. The town-level groundwater arsenic probability values are from three GIS data layers generated by the US Geological Survey: probability of local groundwater arsenic concentration1 µg/L, probability5 µg/L, and probability10 µg/L. We calculated Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) between the reproductive outcomes (preterm birth and term LBW) and the arsenic probability values, at both state and county levels. For preterm birth, younger mothers (maternal age20) have a statewide r = 0.70 between the rates smoothed with a threshold = 2,000 births and the town mean arsenic level based on the data of probability10 µg/L; for older mothers, r = 0.19 when the smoothing threshold = 3,500; a majority of county level r values are positive based on the arsenic data of probability10 µg/L. For term LBW, younger mothers (maternal age25) have a statewide r = 0.44 between the rates smoothed with a threshold = 3,500 and town minimum arsenic concentration based on the data of probability1 µg/L; for older mothers, r = 0.14 when the rates are smoothed with a threshold = 1,000 births and also adjusted by town median household income in 1999, and the arsenic values are the town minimum based on probability10 µg/L. At the county level for younger mothers, positive r values prevail, but for older mothers, it is a mix. For both birth problems, the several most populous counties-with 60-80 % of the state's population and clustering at the southwest corner of the state-are largely consistent in having a positive r across different smoothing thresholds. We found evident spatial associations between the two adverse human reproductive outcomes and groundwater arsenic in New Hampshire, USA. However, the degree of associations and their sensitivity to different representations of arsenic level are variable. Generally, preterm birth has a stronger spatial association with groundwater arsenic than term LBW, suggesting an inconsistency in the impact of arsenic on the two reproductive outcomes. For both outcomes, younger maternal age has stronger spatial associations with groundwater arsenic. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full text from SpringerLink