WORK WITH VIDEO DISPLAY TERMINALS AND THE RISK OF REDUCED BIRTH-WEIGHT AND PRETERM BIRTH

To determine whether the use of video display terminals (VDTs) is asso ciated with an increased risk of reduced birthweight (RBW) and preterm birth, a cohort of telephone operators who used VDTs at work was comp ared to a cohort of non-VDT-users. Among 2,430 women interviewed, 713 eligible singleton live births were reported. Exposure was estimated f rom company records and a representative sample of electromagnetic fie lds was measured at the VDT workstations, For RBW (less than or equal to 2,800 g), we found no excess risk associated with any VDT use durin g pregnancy (ends ratio [OR] = 0.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5 -1.7). For preterm birth (less than or equal to 37 weeks), we similarl y found no excess risk (OR = 0.7: 95% CI = 0.4-1.1). The risks estimat ed did not change substantially when hours working with VDTs were used as exposure variables. By contrast, increased risks were found for se veral known risk factors for LBW and preterm birth. We conclude thar o ccupational VDT use does not increase the risk of RBW and preterm birt h. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.