Chlorination disinfection by-products and risk of congenital anomalies in England and Wales.
BACKGROUND
Increased risk of various congenital anomalies has been reported to be associated with trihalomethane (THM) exposure in the water supply.


OBJECTIVE
We conducted a registry-based study to determine the relationship between THM concentrations and the risk of congenital anomalies in England and Wales.


METHODS
We obtained congenital anomaly data from the National Congenital Anomalies System, regional registries, and the national terminations registry; THM data were obtained from water companies. Total THM (< 30, 30 to < 60, > or =60 microg/L), total brominated exposure (< 10, 10 to < 20, > or =20 microg/L), and bromoform exposure (< 2, 2 to < 4, > or =4 microg/L) were modeled at the place of residence for the first trimester of pregnancy. We included 2,605,226 live births, stillbirths, and terminations with 22,828 cases of congenital anomalies. Analyses using fixed- and random-effects models were performed for broadly defined groups of anomalies (cleft palate/lip, abdominal wall, major cardiac, neural tube, urinary and respiratory defects), a more restricted set of anomalies with better ascertainment, and for isolated and multiple anomalies. Data were adjusted for sex, maternal age, and socioeconomic status.


RESULTS
We found no statistically significant trends across exposure categories for either the broadly defined or more restricted sets of anomalies. For the restricted set of anomalies with isolated defects, there were significant (p < 0.05) excess risks in the high-exposure categories of total THMs for ventricular septal defects [odds ratio (OR) = 1.43; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00-2.04] and of bromoform for major cardiovascular defects and gastroschisis (OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.00-1.39; and OR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.00-1.92, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
In this large national study we found little evidence for a relationship between THM concentrations in drinking water and risk of congenital anomalies.
Nieuwenhuijsen
Mark J
MJ
Small Area Health Statistics Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, London, United Kingdom.
Toledano
Mireille B
MB
Bennett
James
J
Best
Nicky
N
Hambly
Peter
P
de Hoogh
Cornelis
C
Wellesley
Diana
D
Boyd
Patricia A
PA
Abramsky
Lenore
L
Dattani
Nirupa
N
Fawell
John
J
Briggs
David
D
Jarup
Lars
L
Elliott
Paul
P
D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D004203:Disinfection; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology