References, year | Design, country | Reproductive outcome | Polluted sites Residential exposure | Confunder factors | Analysis/stratification | Findings |
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Case–control studies | ||||||
Geschwind et al. 1992 [37] | Population-based, case–control study; New York State 1983–1984 USA | All congenital anomalies combined; Specific defects Nervous system, Musculoskeletal, system, integument system, oral cleft, digestive system, chromosomal anomalies, syndrome | Hazardous waste site Maternal’s exposure defined with exposure risk index that incorporated distance from and the hazard ranking score for each hazardous waste site within 1-mile radius of birth residence | Maternal age, race, education, complication during pregnancy, parity, population density, sex of child | Unconditional linear logistic regression | Results suggested small, statistically significant additional risk for birth defects with maternal residential proximity to toxic waste sites |
Shaw et al. 1992a [23] | Population-based, case–control study Five-county San Francisco Bay Area 1983–1985 USA | All congenital anomaly Specific defects Central nervous system Eye, Ear, heart/circulatory, respiratory, oral clefts, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, skin, musculoskeletal Birth outcome Low birth weight | Environmental contamination Landfill and dumpsites and HWS and Industry… Exposure defined as Mother’s residence at the time of delivery in a census tract with one or more sites with documented environmental contamination | Maternal race, maternal age, child’s sex, child’s birth order, multiple birth child, gestational age, season of conception, prenatal care | Logistic regression/ linear regression used with LBW | No excess risks found for reduced birth weight or all congenital malformations, combined. However, the results noted elevated risk for heart/ circulatory defects in offspring of mothers who resided in census tracts with sites with evidence of potential human exposure |
Sosniak et al. 1994 [30] | Population-based case–control study in 48 states US | All congenital anomalies combined Birth outcomes Low and very low birth weight, infant deaths, fetal deaths | NPL site Mother exposure defined as a distance of 1 mile or less from nearest NPL site from zip code centroids of maternal residences at delivery | Prenatal care, smoking, drinking and illicit drug use status, working history. Education, income, age at pregnancy, and sex of the child | Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed | Maternal residential proximity to NPL sites not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including: Congenital anomalies, low and very low birth weight, infant deaths, fetal deaths |
Goldberg et al. 1995 [54] | Population-based, case–control study Montreal (1979–1989) Canada | LBW, VLBW Preterm births, Small-for-gestational age (less than or equal to the third percentile weight for gestational age) | Landfill site Defined three exposure zones representing areas proximal and distal to a municipal soil id waste landfill site. High exposure zone divided into two subzones to account for prevailing winds | Mother’s age, education level, marital status, usual language spoken, season of birth, sex of the newborn | Unconditional logistic regression | Among births to mothers who resided adjacent to the landfill: Significant elevated risk of LBW and no-significant elevated risk of small for gestational age. But no significant positive association were observe for PTB or for VLBW |
Croen et al. 1997a [35] | Population-based, case–control study California 1989–1991 US | Specific defects NDt, conotruncal heart, and oral cleft defects | Hazardous waste site Maternal exposure defined as living during periconceptional period in either: In census tract contained one or mmore waste site—within 1 mile or less of one or more sites | Sex of baby, Maternal age Race/ethnicity, Maternal education, Family income Periconceptional employment status Alcohol use, Smoking Vitamin use, Education | Multivariate analyses using unconditional logistic regression | No increased risks for congenital defects for a maternal residence in a census tract with one or more waste sites, but some association was noted between a maternal residence within ¼ mile of an NPL site and risk for NTD and conotruncal heart defects in offspring |
Dolk et al. 1998 [52] | Population-based case–control study Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, UK | Non-chromosomal congenital anomalies Specific defects NDt, cardiac septa, Anomalies of great arteries and veins, central nervous system, oral defect… | Landfill site Within each study area, a 0–3 km “proximate” zone was defined around each landfill site with hazardous waste. This zone was compared with a 3–7 km “distant” zone. | Socioeconomic status and maternal age | Logistic and related binomial regression models were used | Results indicated significant small excess risk of non-chromosomal defects in offspring among women who lived near hazardous waste landfill sites Elevated odds ratios were also found for specific defects |
Marshall et al. 1997a [38] | Population-based, case–control study 18 counties in New York State, 1983–1986 USA | Specific defects Central nervous system and musculoskeletal system defects | HWS and industrial sites Mother’s exposure defined as maternal living at delivery within 1 mile of industrial facilities that release specific air emissions (TRI) or to waste sites with specific contaminants | prenatal care, mother’s education, mother’s age, mother’s race, total previous births, trimester prenatal care initiated child’s sex, urban–rural status (Population density) | Unconditional logistic regression model | No increased risk noted between women living in areas with a medium or high probability of exposure to chemicals from hazardous waste sites and CNS and musculoskeletal birth defects in offspring; however, association seen between living in close proximity to industrial facilities with emissions of soil vents or metals and CNS defect |
Orr et al. 2002a [12] | Case–control study 1983–1988 California (24 counties) | All birth defects combined Specific defects NDT, MUS defects, CNS defects, integumental defects, heart or circulatory defectsoral cleft defects, and conotruncal heart defects | Waste site Exposed defined as maternal address at child’s birth in census tract with one or more National Priority List (NPL) hazardous waste sites | sex, Maternal age, Racial/ethnic group, Prenatal care Birth outcome | Logistic regression model | Strongest association observed between a maternal residence in a census tract with one or more NPL sites and birth defects in offspring |
Vriljheld et al. 2002a [1] | Population-based case–control study Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, UK | chromosomal and Non-chromosomal anomaly Specific defects NDT, cardiac septal defects, malformations of the great arteries and veins | Landfill site Within each study area, a 0–3 km “proximate” zone was defined around each landfill site with hazardous waste This zone was compared with a 3–7 km “distant” zone | Maternal age and socioeconomic status | Logistic regression models were used | The result noted that there is little evidence for a relation between risk of congenital anomaly in proximate relative to distant zones and hazard potential of landfill sites as classified by the expert panel |
Vriljheld et al. 2002 [51] | Population-based case–control study Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, UK | Chromosomal congenital anomalies Specific defect Down’s syndrome, non-Down’s syndrome | Landfill site Within each study area, a 0–3 km “proximate” zone was defined around each landfill site with hazardous waste This zone was compared with a 3–7 km “distant” zone | Adjusted for maternal age and socioeconomic status, study area, year of birth | Logistic and related binomial regression models were used | An increased risk of chromosomal anomalies with a maternal residence near hazardous waste landfill sites was noted. Whereas, risk did not decline consistently with increasing distance from sites |
Boyle et al. 2004 [41] | Population-based cohort and case–control studies; Eastern Region of Ireland births, 1986–1990 Great Britain | All congenital anomalies combined | Landfill site Municipal landfill sites within 3 km (and other distances) of district electoral divisions; distance of case and control addresses from landfill sites | Living near a municipal landfill site was not found a risk factor for congenital malformations | ||
Malik et al. 2004 [31] | Population-based case–control study Dallas County, 1979–1984 USA | Live births diagnosed with congenital heart disease at any age | Hazardous waste site Mothers’ exposure defined as residence at delivery within ¼ and 1 mile of hazardous waste site | Stratification by CHD category | Chi-square and Mantel Haenszel analysis used to estimate odds ratios | Small, but statistically significant, additional risk (20%)for congenital heart disease among offspring of women who lived near a hazardous waste site (1 mile) |
Yauck et al. 2004 [22] | Population-based case–control study; Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1997–1999 USA | Congenital heart defect (CHD) among older women | HWS and Industrial facilities Mother’s exposure defined as address at delivery within 1.32 miles of waste sites and industrial facilities with emissions of trichloroethylene | Race/ethnicity, cigarette use, prenatal care received, month of pregnancy prenatal care began, pregnancy-associated hypertension, gestational diabetes | Backward stepwise Logistic regression | Maternal residential proximity to waste sites and industries with TCE emissions associated with CHD in offspring of older but not younger women |
Brender et al. 2006a [32] | Population- based case–control study Texas, 1996–2000 US | Specific defects Live births and fetal deaths with cleft palate without cleft lip; cleft lip without or with cleft palate; isolated oral cleft | HWS and Industries sites Residence at delivery (and during the periconceptional period) within 1 mile of NPL or state hazardous waste site and/or within 1 mile of industries | Maternal race/ethnicity, education, and tobacco use | Logistic regression used to obtain odds ratios | Maternal residential proximity to industries might be associated with oral clefts in births to older mothers (>35 years) |
Mueller et al. 2007a [40] | Population-based case–control study in Washington 1987–2001 USA | All fetal death 2 timing of fetal death: −<28 weeks (early) −≥28 weeks gestation (late) excluded those with gestational age <20 weeks | Hazardous waste site Measured straight-line distances in miles between the mother’s residence at the time delivery and the nearest hazardous waste site | Maternal age, prenatal smoking status, and number of prior pregnancies | Stratified analyses using Mantel-Haenszel risk estimators multivariable logistic regression | Fetal death not associated with maternal residential proximity to hazardous waste sites |
Kuehn et al. 2007a [34] | Population-based case–control study in Washington State, 1987–2001 US | Any congenital malformation Specific defects CNS, GI, Heart, Reproductive/urogenital, Musculoskeletal, Ears/eyes/nose/Respiratory/circulatory, Chromosomal Skin, Other Midline | Hazardous Waste site Distance of women’s residence at time birth from hazardous waste sites; proximity defined as various distances up to 5 miles; | Maternal and paternal age, maternal smoking and alcohol consumption, parity, gravidity, prior fetal death, race/ethnicity, maternal education, county of residence, medical insurance status, marital status, parental employment urban vs. rural residence, census tract median income, and census tract population density | Multivariable logistic regression | An increased risk of congenital malformations among offspring of women living in close proximity of hazardous waste sites; Moreover, associations for malformations stronger with sites in urban areas than in rural areas |
Suarez et al. 2007a [39] | Population-based case–control study in Texas, 1996–2000 USA | Specific defect Neural tube defects | HWS and industrial site Mother exposure defined as residence at delivery within 1 mile of state or NPL hazardous waste site or within 1 mile of industries with reported air emissions of chemicals | Maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, and maternal and paternal occupational exposures | Logistic regression used to calculate ORs | No excess risk noted for NTDs in offspring among women living near hazardous waste sites; however, close proximity to industrial facilities with chemical air emissions associated with NTDs in several subgroups |
Brender et al. 2008a [33] | Population-based case–control study in Texas, 1996–2000 USA | Chromosomal anomalies (combined) and categorized into nine categories based on BPA codes | HWS and Industrial site Mother exposure defined as residence at delivery within 1 mile of industries with reported air emissions of chemicals or residence at delivery within 1 mile of state or NPL hazardous waste site | Year of birth, Infant sex, public health region of maternal residence maternal age education and race/ethnicity | Unconditional logistic regression and exact logistic regression | Maternal residence within 1 mile of a hazardous any waste site or of an industrial facilities was not associated with chromosomal anomalies in offspring. However, results suggested some relation between residential proximity to specific type of industries and specific defects |
Langlois et al. 2009a [13] | Population-based case–control study of Texas 1996–2000 USA | Conotruncal heart defects with and without chromosomal anomalies and truncus arteriosus, transposition of the great vessels, and tetralogy of Fallot separately | HWS and industrial site Mother exposure defined as maternal address at delivery within 1 mile to hazardous waste sites and industrial facilities (Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)) | Maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, maternal and paternal occupation and employment industry | Logistic regression / exact logistic regression used to calculate ORs | Proximity to waste sites or industrial facilities not associated with conotruncal heart defects, while result noted truncus arteriosus associated with a maternal residence within 1 mile of any waste site and with NPL sites |
Cohort studies | ||||||
Dodds et al. 2001 [55] | Population-based cohort study Nova Scotia, Canada 1988–1998 | All anomalies combined Specific defects NDT, cardiovascular, Genito-urinary, Musculoskeletal, Ear, Eyes, Nose, Throat, Chromosomal Birth outcome LBW, PTB, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) | Hazardous waste site Rates for malformations and other adverse pregnancy outcomes compared by maternal address at the time of delivery in Sydney (site of hazardous waste site), Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton County (excluding Sydney) | Maternal age, maternal smoking, parity | Logistic regression models | Small statistically significant increase in rate of major congenital malformations in community with a hazardous waste site |
Dummer et al. 2003 [44] | Retrospective cohort study Cumbria (northwest England), 1956–93 United Kingdom | Deaths from congenital anomaly (ICD 740–749): (all NDT, CHD, other congenital anomalies) Birth outcome Stillbirth occurring (after 28 weeks gestation) Neonatal death (within the first four weeks of life) | Incinerators Crematoriums Distances of maternal address at child’s birth from incinerators and crematoriums | Year of birth, social class, birth order, multiple births yes/no | Multivariate logistic regression Stratified by time period | Incinerators. The risk of stillbirth and neonatal death was not significantly increased closer to incinerators, but the risk of lethal congenital anomaly was significantly higher Crematoriums. Increased risk of anencephaly, other congenital anomalies, and stillbirth closer to crematoriums |
Dummer et al. 2003 [43] | Retrospective cohort study Cumbria (northwest England), 1956–93 United Kingdom | Deaths from congenital anomaly (ICD 740–749): (all NDT, CHD, other congenital anomalies) Birth outcome Stillbirth occurring (after 28 weeks gestation) Neonatal death (within the first four weeks of life) | Industrial site Distances of maternal address at child’s birth from industrial site | Year of birth, social class, birth order, multiple births yes/no | Multivariate logistic regression Stratified by time period | There were no significantly increased risks for stillbirth or neonatal death in relation to proximity to industrial sites The only significant result was an increased risk of deaths from congenital heart defects closer to industrial sites in the 1983–93-time period |
Dummer et al. 2003a [42] | Retrospective cohort study Cumbria (northwest England), 1956–93 United Kingdom | Deaths from congenital anomaly (ICD 740–749): (all NDT, CHD, other congenital anomalies) Birth outcome Stillbirth occurring (after 28 weeks gestation) Neonatal death (within the first four weeks of life) | Landfill site Distances of zip code of maternal address at child’s birth from Landfill classified by the type of waste treated | Year of birth, social class, birth order, multiple births yes/no | Multivariate logistic regression Stratified by time period | There was no increased risk of any other lethal adverse pregnancy outcome associated with residence near the landfills site. However, a small significantly increased risk of death from “Other congenital anomalies of nervous system” was found in children of mothers living near domestic waste landfill sites |
Morgan et al. 2004 [50] | Retrospective cohort study of singleton live births in England, 1986–1999 United Kingdom | Low birth weight births | Landfill site Mother’s exposure defined as residence at delivery within 3 km of a landfill; for all study areas pooled, defined 1-km distance bands with 6–7 km as baseline | Sex, quintiles of Carstairs deprivation index, year of birth | Logistic regression used to estimated odds ratios | A small and not statistical significant increase in LBW risk associated with a maternal residence near landfill sites in England. Whereas a significant increase excess risk of congenital malformation associated with a maternal residence near the same sites |
Tango et al. 2004 [56] | Retrospective cohort of Japan (1997–98) | Infant, neonatal, and fetal deaths due to congenital malformations (all combined), sex ratio, LBW: (<2500 g), VLBW (<1500 g), Neonatal deaths (under four weeks of age), early neonatal deaths (under one week of age), Infant deaths (under 1 year of age), Fetal deaths, spontaneous fetal deaths (after 12th week of gestation) spontaneous fetal deaths with CA | Incinerators The study area was defined as circles of radius 10 km from the MSW incinerators Area close to the MSW incinerator defined as to be 0–2 km | Maternal age, Gestational age Birth weight, total previous deliveries, Past experience of fetal deaths, type of paternal occupation | Stone’s unconditional test and tango’s conditional test for decline in risk (O/E ratio) with distance from the incinerator. P-values of these unconditional and conditional tests were calculated using 9999 Monte Carlo simulations | None of adverse reproductive outcomes showed statistically significant excess for all the zones A statistically significant peak-decline in risk with distance from the incinerators up to 10 km was found for infant death and Infant death with all Congenital anomaly A decline in risk with distance from the incinerators was observed for spontaneous fetal deaths with Congenital anomaly |
Palmer et al. 2005 [46] | Population-based cohort in Wales 1983–1997 Great Britain | All Congenital anomalies Specific defect Chromosomal anomalies, cardiovascular defects, and abdominal wall defects | Landfill Exposure defined as birth living within 2 km of the centroid of landfill sites, before and after opening of the sites, with referent group living at least 4 km away from these sites | Maternal age, hospital of birth, year of birth, deprivation, sex of baby | Expected rates were calculated from a logistic regression model | Increased risk of congenital anomalies after the opening of landfill sites from 1983–1997 but increase did not persist during 1998–2000 |
Gilbreath et al. 2006 [29] | Retrospective cohort study Alaska Native villages, 1997–2001 | LBW (>1500 to <2500) VLBW (<1500 g), PTB (<37 weeks) IUGR (at least 37 weeks’ gestation and <2500 g | Dumpsites Hazard ranking of the dumpsite of the village that was indicated on the birth certificate Residence in villages with open low, intermediate and high hazard dumpsites | Gender, interpregnancy interval, parity, adequacy of prenatal care, smoking status, alcohol intake, race, mother’s age and education, health care options, piped water, and missing values | Logistic regression | Infants from mothers in villages with intermediate and high hazard dumpsites had a higher proportion of LBW and suffered from intrauterine growth retardation Slighty reduced risks for preterm birth in mothers from intermediate hazard villages |
Gilbreath and Kass 2006 [36] | retrospective cohort study of live births and fetal deaths Alaska Native villages, 1997–2001 USA | Fetal deaths (>20 weeks of gestation), Neonatal deaths Specific defects Congenital anomalies grouped into five categories including central nervous system, circulatory and respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, and musculoskeletal or integumentary defects | Dumpsites Hazard ranking of the dumpsite of the village that was indicated on the birth certificate Mother’s exposure defined as residence in villages with open low, intermediate and high hazard dumpsites | Gender, interpregnancy interval, parity, adequacy of prenatal care, smoking status, alcohol intake, race, mother’s age and education, healthcare options, piped water | Poisson regression used to model the natural log of the incidence rates | No significant excess risk was found for fetal deaths, neonatal deaths, or congenital anomalies with a maternal residence in Alaska Native villages with higher hazard dumpsites; except for one group of congenital anomaly |