title: Arsenic exposure during pregnancy and size at birth: a prospective cohort study in Bangladesh.
abstract: The authors evaluated the association of prenatal arsenic exposure with size at birth (birth weight, birth length, head and chest circumferences). This prospective cohort study, based on 1,578 mother-infant pairs, was conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh, in 2002-2003. Arsenic exposure was assessed by analysis of arsenic in urine collected at around gestational weeks 8 and 30. The association of arsenic exposure with size at birth was assessed by linear regression analyses. In analysis over the full range of exposure (6-978 microg/L), no dose-effect association was found with birth size. However, significant negative dose effects were found with birth weight and head and chest circumferences at a low level of arsenic exposure (<100 microg/L in urine). In this range of exposure, birth weight decreased by 1.68 (standard error (SE), 0.62) g for each 1-microg/L increase of arsenic in urine. For head and chest circumferences, the corresponding reductions were 0.05 (SE, 0.03) mm and 0.14 (SE, 0.03) mm per 1 microg/L, respectively. No further negative effects were shown at higher levels of arsenic exposure. The indicated negative effect on birth size at a low level of arsenic exposure warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh. anisur.rahman@kbh.uu.se
authors.forename: Anisur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vahter
authors.forename: Allan H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Barbro
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nermell
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yunus
authors.forename: Shams
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Arifeen
authors.forename: Lars-Ake
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: Eva-Charlotte
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Ekström
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000652:urine*; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000652:urine*; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D001724:Birth Weight; D049628:Body Size; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018568:Crown-Rump Length; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000652:urine*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic