Premium
Work with video display terminals and the risk of reduced birthweight and preterm birth
Author(s) -
Grajewski Barbara,
Schnorr Teresa M.,
Reefhuis Jennita,
Roeleveld Nel,
Salvan Alberto,
Mueller Charles A.,
Conover David L.,
Murray William E.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199712)32:6<681::aid-ajim16>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , confidence interval , cohort , cohort study , obstetrics , demography , risk factor , sociology , pathology
To determine whether the use of video display terminals (VDTs) is associated with an increased risk of reduced birthweight (RBW) and preterm birth, a cohort of telephone operators who used VDTs at work was compared to a cohort of non‐VDT‐users. Among 2,430 women interviewed, 713 eligible singleton live births were reported. Exposure was estimated from company records and a representative sample of electromagnetic fields was measured at the VDT workstations. For RBW (≤2,800 g), we found no excess risk associated with any VDT use during pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] = 0.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5–1.7). For preterm birth (≤37 weeks), we similarly found no excess risk (OR = 0.7; 95%CI = 0.4–1.1). The risks estimated did not change substantially when hours working with VDTs were used as exposure variables. By contrast, increased risks were found for several known risk factors for LBW and preterm birth. We conclude that occupational VDT use does not increase the risk of RBW and preterm birth. Am. J. Ind. Med. 32:681–688, 1997. Published 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.