Prenatal environmental exposures and associations with teen births

Abstract

Background: Children's prenatal exposure to multiple environmental chemicals may contribute to subsequent deficits in impulse control, predisposing them to risk-taking.Objective: Our goal was to investigate associations between prenatal exposure mixtures and risk of teen birth, a manifestation of high-risk sexual activity, among 5,865 girls (1 st generation) born in southeast Massachusetts from 1992-1998. Methods:Exposures included prenatal modeled polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ρ,ρ′dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). We fit adjusted generalized additive models with multivariable smooths of exposure mixtures, 1 st generation infant's birth year, and maternal age at 1 st generation birth. Predicted odds ratios (ORs) for teen birth were mapped as a function of joint exposures. We also conducted sensitivity analyses among 1 st generation girls with measured exposure biomarkers (n=371). Results:The highest teen birth risk was associated with a mixture of high prenatal HCB, Hg, Pb, and PCB, but low DDE exposure, with similar associations in sensitivity analyses. The highest OR predicted for girls born in 1995 to mothers of median age (26 years) was at the 95 th percentile of Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:http://www.nature.com/authors/editorial_policies/license.html#terms