Newborn Weights Affected By Environmental Contaminants

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Fertility
Article Date: 16 Jun 2009 - 7:00 PST

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Recent epidemiological studies have revealed an increase in the frequency of genital malformations in male newborns (e.g., un-descended testes) and a decrease in male fertility.

The role played by the growing presence in our environment of contaminants that reduce male hormone action could explain this phenomenon.

It is known that the birth weight of males is higher than that of females due to the action of male hormones on the male fetus.If the exposure of pregnant women to environmental contaminants that diminish the action of male hormones has increased over the years, one would expect to see a decrease in the sex difference in birth weight.

This is exactly what a new study published in the July 2009 issue of Epidemiology shows. Investigators analyzed the Public Health Agency of Canada's database on the birth weights of more than five million children born in Canada between 1981 and 2003.

Using statistical methods that control for changes over time of mother's age and parity, the investigators effectively show a sustained decrease in birth weight differences between boys and girls, which supports the hypothesis of growing endocrine disruption related to environmental contaminants. Contaminants found in plastic materials represent plausible candidates, since they are known to diminish the action of male hormones.

"Our study underlines the importance of probing the impact of environmental contaminants on the health of mothers and fetuses and on the reproductive potential of future generations," says lead researcher Dr. Guy Van Vliet, a pediatric endocrinologist and investigator at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and a professor at the Department of Pediatrics of the Université de Montréal.

Notes:

About the Study

The study Decreasing sex difference in birth weight, published in the journal Epidemiology, was authored by Dr. Guy Van Vliet, a pediatric endocrinologist and investigator at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and a professor at the Department of Pediatrics of the Université de Montréal; Dr. Shiliang Liu, a perinatal epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada as well as with Dr. Michael S. Kramer, Scientific Director of the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and a professor at the Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology, McGill University. The study was carried out under the auspices of the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System (CPSS).

On the Web:

About the study cited in the journal Epidemiology
About the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center
About the Université de Montréal
About McGill University
About the Canadian Institutes for Health Research

Source:
Nicole Saint-Pierre
Sainte-Justine Hospital
University of Montreal