Parental agricultural work and selected congenital malformations

The authors conducted a case-control study in Comunidad Valenciana, Spain, to assess the relation between occupational exposure to pesticides, mainly as a result of agricultural work, and the prevalence of congenital malforma tions. A total of 261 cases and 261 controls were selected from those infan ts bon! in eight public hospitals during 1993-1994. The cases were those wh o were diagnosed with selected defects (nervous system, cardiovascular, ora l clefts, hypospadias/epispadias, musculoskeletal, and unspecified anomalie s) during their first year of life. Information on occupational exposures a nd potential confounding variables was collected from the parents. For the mothers who were involved in agricultural activities during the month befor e conception and the first trimester of pregnancy, the adjusted odds ratio was 3.16 (95% confidence interval 1.11-9.01) primarily due to an increased risk for nervous system defects, oral clefts, and multiple anomalies. Pater nal agricultural work did not increase the risk, although fathers who repor ted ever handling pesticides had an adjusted odds ratio of 1.49 (95% confid ence interval 0.94-2.35) mainly related to an increased risk for nervous sy stem and musculoskeletal defects. Although the power of this study regardin g some associations is limited,;the results justify further attention to ma ternal agricultural work and paternal pesticide exposure.