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30
Multi-Year Research Grants
The Exposure of Pregnant Women and their Offspring to Endocrine Disrupting
Chemicals and Organophosphate Pesticides
There is a growing concern of the possible health effects posed by exposure to
environmental contaminants. Of specific concern are vulnerable populations such as
pregnant women and their developing fetuses. Phthalates, which are widely used in
industry, are considered to be endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), with a possible
anti-androgenic effect. Organophosphate pesticides (OP) are widely used in agriculture
and gardening; but while their possible effects in terms of carcinogenesis and neurologic
disturbances have been widely studied, only few studies looked into the association of
exposure with birth outcomes. Data are therefore lacking on the effects of phthalates
and OPs on the developing fetuses, and there are no such data from Israel.
Our main objectives are to estimate intrauterine exposure to phthalates and OPs in the
Jerusalem population, and to estimate the association of such exposures with birth
outcomes and anthropometric features of the reproductive system. Our secondary
objectives are to estimate the sources of exposure and the correlation between levels
of these materials in amniotic fluid, maternal urine, and fetal urine collected soon after
birth, in order to evaluate the validity of urine tests in estimating intrauterine exposure.
We are conducting a cohort study of women in their first trimester or early second
trimester of pregnancy. Ongoing data collection started in September 2012. Data
collection includes an interview and maternal urine sample upon recruitment, amniotic
fluid and a second urine sample during follow-up visits in the second trimester,
postpartum interview, examination of the offspring including anthropometric
measurements of the anogenital distance (AGD), and a neonatal urine sample. All
samples are kept in -80°c until shipment to the Friedrich Alexander University in
Germany, for laboratory analysis.
As of May 2014, about 290 pregnant women have been recruited, of whom 93% were
eligible for follow up and 164 have reached term. Of the 132 births that were identified
at Hadassah, 102 neonates were examined by the study's neonatologists. In July 2014,
175 specimens from 73 women and their offspring were shipped for laboratory analysis.
Ronit Calderon-Margalit
1
Ronit Haimov-Kochman
2
Tamar Berman
3
Zivanit Ergaz-Shaltiel
2
1. Hebrew University – Hadassah
2. Hadassah Medical Center
3. Israel Ministry of Health
2012-