MALE-MEDIATED RISK OF SPONTANEOUS-ABORTION WITH REFERENCE TO STAINLESS-STEEL WELDING

Objectives It was hypothesized that the welding of stainless steel inv olves a risk of male-mediated developmental toxicity because of exposu re to mutagenic substances, including hexavalent chromium. The purpose of the present study was to corroborate or refute earlier findings th at spouses of stainless steel welders have an increased risk of sponta neous abortion. Methods The occurrence of spontaneous abortion among 2 520 pregnancies of spouses of 1715 married metal workers from 1977 thr ough 1987 was examined. Occupational histories were collected with a p ostal questionnaire in a previous study. Information on children born live, spontaneous abortion, and induced abortion was obtained from nat ional medical registers. Results The proportion of spontaneous abortio ns was not increased for pregnancies at risk from stainless steel weld ing when compared with pregnancies not at risk (adds ratio 0.78, 95% c onfidence interval 0.55-1.1). The risk estimate was robust to adjustme nt for potential confounding effects of maternal age and parity and ma le smoking and alcohol consumption. Conclusions This study does not co rroborate earlier findings that spouses of stainless steel welders hav e increased risk of spontaneous abortion. A reanalysis indicated that earlier findings were probably biased because the job exposure of male metal workers is apparently modified by the outcome of their partners ' first pregnancy.