Congenital anomalies and other birth outcomes among infants born to women living near a hazardous waste site in Sydney, Nova Scotia

Using data from the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database, rates of adverse birth outcomes were compared among residents of Sydney, Nova Scotia and res idents of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia (excluding Sydney) with birth out comes among residents of the rest of Nova Scotia. There was a small but sta tistically significant increase in the rate of major congenital anomalies i n Sydney (2.8%) compared to the rest of Nova Scotia (2.3%) (adjusted RR=1.2 5, 95% CI= 1.04-1.51). Rates of anomaly sub-groups were consistently elevat ed in Sydney compared to the rest of Nova Scotia, but most were not statist ically significant. For the most part, the increased rates of congenital an omalies observed among residents of Sydney were not evident in the neighbou ring community. Since Sydney and the rest of Cape Breton County share a sim ilar risk factor and socio-demographic profile, other factors likely explai n the increased rates observed in Sydney.