Work

Gastroschisis and Cumulative Stressor Exposures

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Gastroschisis, a congenital defect of the abdominal wall, occurs disproportionately more in offspring of young mothers and has been increasing in prevalence over the past decades. A wide range of exposures have been reported in association with an increased gastroschisis risk, independent of mother's age; many have also been correlated with stress responses. METHODS: We explored cumulative exposures to such stressor exposures among 1,261 mothers of gastroschisis cases and 10,682 mothers of controls in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (1997-2011). We considered 16 exposures as stressors in the first trimester: fever, genitourinary infection, anti-herpetic medication use, injury, bronchodilator use, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, illicit drug use, prescription opioid use, oral contraceptive use, interpregnancy interval < 12 months, residential move, aspirin use, ibuprofen use, venlafaxine use, and paroxetine use. RESULTS: Mothers of cases reported more stressor exposures than controls. For 1, 2, 3, and ≥ 4 stressor exposures compared with none, the age-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.3 (1.1, 1.6), 1.7 (1.4, 2.1), 2.5 (2.0, 3.1), and 3.6 (2.9, 4.4), respectively. When we weighted cumulative stress scores according to the magnitude of stressor-specific odds ratios, similar associations were observed. Cumulative stressor exposure did not account for the strong inverse association between age and gastroschisis risk. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that gastroschisis risk appears to increase with accumulation of widely different types of exposures, consistent with the hypothesis that stress-induced inflammation might play an etiologic role.

Source: Epidemiology

DOI: 10.1097/ede.0000000000000860

Authors: Martha M. Werler, Esther Guéry, Dorothy K. Waller, Samantha E. Parker

Institutions: Boston University, Inserm, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Language: English

Topic: Congenital Anomalies and Fetal Surgery

Subfield: Surgery

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention