RESUMO
The authors conducted a retrospective case-control study to determine risk factors for neural tube defects (NTD). 88 Louisiana women (44 matched pairs) were interviewed. Previous evidence suggested that maternal health and/or nutrition may be involved in the etiology of NTD. The findings substantiate the importance of maternal risk factors, including the apparent elevation of body temperature from taking hot baths during the first gestational month. Maternal health, as measured by reported illness and use of medications during pregnancy, was also significant. Several dietary factors, including intake of foods high in beta carotene, appeared to confer a protective effect. These findings suggest that some risk factors, particularly those involving maternal nutrition, may be population-specific.
Assuntos
Comportamento Alimentar , Nível de Saúde , Temperatura Alta/efeitos adversos , Defeitos do Tubo Neural/etiologia , Efeitos Tardios da Exposição Pré-Natal , Anencefalia/etiologia , Anencefalia/prevenção & controle , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Encefalocele/etiologia , Encefalocele/prevenção & controle , Feminino , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Defeitos do Tubo Neural/prevenção & controle , Necessidades Nutricionais , Gravidez , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Disrafismo Espinal/etiologia , Disrafismo Espinal/prevenção & controleRESUMO
Water samples were obtained from 128 private water wells surrounding eight oil field waste sites in Vermilion Parish. The specimens were analyzed for five heavy metals: barium, arsenic, chromium, lead, and cadmium. Half of the specimens were then analyzed for 16 volatile organic compounds. A blood sample was obtained from healthy adults drinking water from the wells tested for volatile organic compounds and this blood sample was also analyzed for volatile organic compounds. None of the water samples had levels of heavy metals or volatile organic compounds that exceeded the National Primary Drinking Water Standards. Barium levels in excess of 250 parts per billion suggested that styrene, toluene, and chloroform might be present. Blood levels of volatile organic compounds were significantly higher than could be accounted for by water consumption with levels in smokers significantly higher than in nonsmokers. These data suggest that as yet there is no contamination of ground water supplies around these sites. Volatile organic accumulation in humans probably occurs from a respiratory rather than from an oral route.