Reprod Toxicol. 2014 Jun;45:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2013.12.005. Epub 2013 Dec 27.

Investigation of maternal environmental exposures in association with self-reported preterm birth.

Patel CJ¹, Yang T², Hu Z², Wen Q², Sung J³, El-Sayed YY³, Cohen H⁴, Gould J⁵, Stevenson DK⁵, Shaw GM⁵, Ling XB², Butte AJ⁶; March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Author information

1: Center for Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
2: Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
3: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
4: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
5: Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
6: Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto, CA, USA. Electronic address: abutte@stanford.edu.

Abstract

Identification of maternal environmental factors influencing preterm birth risks is important to understand the reasons for the increase in prematurity since 1990. Here, we utilized a health survey, the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to search for personal environmental factors associated with preterm birth. 201 urine and blood markers of environmental factors, such as allergens, pollutants, and nutrients were assayed in mothers (range of N: 49-724) who answered questions about any children born preterm (delivery <37 weeks). We screened each of the 201 factors for association with any child born preterm adjusting by age, race/ethnicity, education, and household income. We attempted to verify the top finding, urinary bisphenol A, in an independent study of pregnant women attending Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. We conclude that the association between maternal urinary levels of bisphenol A and preterm birth should be evaluated in a larger epidemiological investigation.