Reproductive outcomes in an area adjacent to a petrochemical plant in southern Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira, Lenice Minussi
• Data de Publicação: 2002
• Outros Autores: Stein, Nina, Sanseverino, Maria Teresa Vieira, Vargas, Vera Maria Ferrão, Fachel, Jandyra Maria Guimarães, Schüler, Lavínia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rsp/article/view/25306
• topic: Indústria petroquímica; Exposição ambiental; Recém-nascido; Impactos na saúde.; Fatores de risco; Recém-nascido de baixo peso; Estudos de casos e controles.; Petroleum industry; Environmental exposure; Infant; newborn; Impacts on health; Risk Factors; low birth weight; Case-control studies

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate possible adverse reproductive outcomes in an area adjacent to a petrochemical plant in southern Brazil. METHODS: A review of 17,113 birth records of the main hospital of the municipality of Montenegro, southern Brazil, from 1983 to 1998 was carried out. Three groups of cases were selected: (1) newborns with major congenital malformations; (2) newborns with low birth weight (;500 g). A control was assigned to each case. Controls were the first newborns weighing >; or = 2,500 g without malformations and of case-matching sex. Mother's residence during pregnancy was used as an exposure parameter. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square test or Fisher test, odds ratio, 0.05 significance level, and 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: For unadjusted analysis, it was found a correlation between low birth weight and geographical proximity of mother's residence to the petrochemical plant (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.01--2.72) or residence on the way of preferential wind direction (OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.03--2.56). When other covariates were added in the conditional logistic regression (maternal smoking habits, chronic disease and age), there was no association. CONCLUSIONS: Despite final results were negative, low birth weight could be a good parameter of environmental contamination and should be closely monitored in the studied area.