title: An evaluation of metrics for assessing maternal exposure to agricultural pesticides.
abstract: We evaluate the use of three different exposure metrics to estimate maternal agricultural pesticide exposure during pregnancy. Using a geographic information system-based method of pesticide exposure estimation, we combine data on crop density and specific pesticide application amounts/dates to create the three exposure metrics. For illustration purposes, we create each metric for a North Carolina cohort of pregnant women, 2003-2005, and analyze the risk of congenital anomaly development with a focus on metric comparisons. Based on the results, and the need to balance data collection efforts/computational efficiency with accuracy, the metric which estimates total chemical exposure using application dates based on crop-specific earliest planting and latest harvesting information is preferred. Benefits and drawbacks of each metric are discussed and recommendations for extending the analysis to other states are provided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.affiliation: National Center for Environmental Assessment, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Luben
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Alison P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Naomi C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Brownstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Amy H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.affiliation: Birth Defects Monitoring Program, State Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Division of Public Health, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D009657:North Carolina; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides