Documents Beking, Kris 2 results

"The purpose of this study was to determine whether registered nurses in specific areas of employment during pregnancy had a higher risk for congenital anomalies in their offspring. An offspring cohort (n = 22,611) was created through linkage of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency live and stillbirth records from 1986 to 2000, to a female cohort database registered nurses. Of these, 16,005 (70.8%) were registered in a specific area of employment when pregnant. Odds ratios were calculated using generalized estimating equations (GEE), binary logistic regression with adjustment for sex, mother's age, and year of birth. Elevated risks of congenital anomalies were found for the singleton offspring of nurses employed in the following areas: operating rooms and pediatric nursing units (heart anomalies); maternal newborn units (integument); emergency room (respiratory system); and psychiatry (upper alimentary tract). Further research is needed to determine whether these are chance or consistent findings and whether exposure patterns might provide biological plausibility."

"BackgroundStudies of offspring of mothers exposed to anesthetic gases have shown associations with congenital anomalies reported by the mothers, but rarely in studies with objectively ascertained outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine associations between registry-ascertained congenital anomalies in offspring and anesthetic gas exposure of mothers employed as nurses.MethodsA cohort of registered nurses in British Columbia, Canada, was linked to records of births and congenital anomalies from 1990 to 2000. Exposures were assessed via a survey of anesthetic gas use in all hospitals in the province and records of nurses' jobs, departments, and hospitals.ResultsDepartments most frequently reporting anesthetic gas use were operating rooms, post-anesthetic recovery rooms, and maternity units. In the cohort of 15,317 live-borne children of 9,433 mothers, 1,079 had congenital anomalies. Anomalies were associated with ever and probable maternal exposure to halogenated gases (ORs: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.04–2.13; and 2.61, 95% CI: 1.31–5.18, respectively) and to nitrous oxide (ORs: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.05–1.94; and 1.82, 95% CI: 1.11–2.99). Anomalies most frequently associated with exposure were those of the heart (OR, halogenated gases: 2.31, 95% CI: 1.07–4.97) and integument (OR, halogenated gases: 3.56, 95% CI: 1.53–8.32; OR, nitrous oxide: 3.02, 95% CI: 1.37–6.64). Gases most frequently associated with anomalies were halothane (predominantly used early in the study period), isoflurane, and sevoflurane (predominantly used later in the period).ConclusionsIn this study, where both exposures and outcomes were assessed objectively, certain congenital anomalies were associated with estimated anesthetic gas exposure."