Time to pregnancy among female greenhouse workers

Objectives This study examined the possibility that work in greenhouses wit h potential exposure to pesticides entails a risk for reduced fecundity in terms of increased time to pregnancy. Methods Among 1767 female members of the Danish Gardeners Trade Union, tele phone interview data were obtained on the 492 most recent pregnancies of wo men employed when they stopped contraception to get a child (the starting t ime). The pregnancies were classified according to job characteristics at t he starting time. The ratio between the likelihood of pregnancy during a mo nth for the exposed persons versus the referents (the fecundability ratio) was estimated by discrete proportional hazards regression. Results The adjusted fecundability ratio for workers in flower greenhouses versus other union members was 1.11 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.90- 1.36]. Among workers in flower greenhouses the handling of cultures many ho urs per week, the spraying of pesticides, and the nonuse of gloves was rela ted to reduced fecundability [adjusted fecundability ratio 0.69 (95% CI0.47 -1.03), 0.78 (95% CI0.59-1.06), and 0.67 (95% CI0.4-0.98), respectively]. Conclusions The findings suggest that female workers in flower greenhouses may have reduced fecundability and that exposure to pesticides may be part of the causal chain. Additional studies of fertility among women working in greenhouses are highly warranted.