Noise Exposure during Pregnancy and Selected Structural Malformations in Infants

Kari Kurppa；Kaarina Rantala；Tuula Nurminen；Peter C Holmberg；Jukka Starck

birth defects ； occupation ； work

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health

15卷2期（1989 / 03 / 01）

111 - 116

英文

The study tested the hypothesis of exposure to noise during pregnancy being teratogenic. It included 1475 Finnish mothers who had given birth to a malformed child (orofacial cleft or structural defect of the central nervous system, skeleton, or heart and great vessels) and 1475 reference mothers. A special inter view soon after delivery yielded the primary information on exposure. Of the 783 mothers who reported noise exposure in the first trimester, 370 were case mothers and 413 were referents. Hygienic assessment indicated that 102 case mothers and 103 referents had been exposed in the first trimester to a sound level of around 80 dB L(subscript Aeq (8 h)) or higher, the overall odds ratio being 1.0 (95% confidence interval 0.7-1.3). Adjustment for potential confounders by logistic regress ion methods gave similar results. There was no obvious trend suggesting a hazard when different exposure categories were considered.