Occupational Exposure to Pesticides and Pregnancy Outcomes in Gardeners and Farmers: A Study Within the Danish National Birth Cohort

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Abstract
We conducted a follow-up study to examine whether exposure to pesticides during pregnancy had an adverse effect on pregnancy outcomes among Danish gardeners and farmers. Using data from the National Birth Cohort in Denmark, we identified 226 pregnancies of gardeners and 214 pregnancies of farmers during 1997 through 2003. Work activities and exposure to pesticides were reported in an interview (around 16 weeks of gestation). Totally, 62,164 other workers in the cohort served as a reference group. Pregnancy outcomes were obtained by linkage to the national registers. Cox regression was applied to analyze late fetal loss and congenital malformations, and logistic regression was used to analyze preterm birth and small for gestational age. There were no significant differences in the studied pregnancy outcomes between gardeners or farmers and all other workers, except for an increased risk of very preterm birth for gardeners and a favorable birth weight for farmers. With the exception of biologic approach used in gardening, neither work activities nor exposure to pesticides showed a significant increased risk of adverse birth outcomes among gardeners or farmers. Our data suggest little effect of occupational exposures to pesticides on pregnancy outcomes among gardeners or farmers in Denmark. The results may not apply to other countries.