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. 2018 Aug 31;15(9):1889.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph15091889.

Atrazine Contamination of Drinking Water and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Community Water Systems with Elevated Atrazine in Ohio, 2006⁻2008

Kirsten S Almberg  1 , Mary E Turyk  2 , Rachael M Jones  3 , Kristin Rankin  4 , Sally Freels  5 , Leslie T Stayner  6
Affiliations

Atrazine Contamination of Drinking Water and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Community Water Systems with Elevated Atrazine in Ohio, 2006⁻2008

Kirsten S Almberg et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Atrazine, a common water contaminant in the U.S., has been associated with adverse birth outcomes in previous studies. This study aimed to determine if atrazine concentrations in drinking water are associated with adverse birth outcomes including small for gestational age (SGA), term low birth weight (term LBW), very low birth weight (VLBW), preterm birth (PTB), and very preterm birth (VPTB). This study included 14,445 live singleton births from Ohio communities served by 22 water systems enrolled in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Atrazine Monitoring Program between 2006 and 2008. Mean gestational and trimester-specific atrazine concentrations were calculated. Significantly increased odds of term LBW birth was associated with atrazine exposure over the entire gestational period (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10, 1.45), as well as the first (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08, 1.34) and second trimesters (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07, 1.20) of pregnancy. We observed no evidence of an association between atrazine exposure via drinking water and SGA, VLBW, PTB, or VPTB. Our results suggest that atrazine exposure is associated with reduced birth weight among term infants and that exposure to atrazine in drinking water in early and mid-pregnancy may be most critical for its toxic effects on the fetus.

Keywords: atrazine; community water system; endocrine disruptor; low birth weight; preterm birth; small for gestational age; water contamination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results. The contents of this document including data analysis, interpretation or conclusions are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of Ohio Department of Health.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Seasonal variations in mean monthly atrazine concentration (µg/L) in finished water samples from 22 AMP community water systems in Ohio, 2006–2008.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between gestational and trimester mean estimates of atrazine exposure in drinking water and term LBW in communities served by water systems enrolled in USEPA’s AMP (n = 22) in Ohio, 2006–2008.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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