Pregnant women’s exposure to some metals can cause pre-term birth and low birth weight in infants, and pre-eclampsia in women, reveals a study published in Environment International (December). Conducted by Rutgers University, USA, this new research indicates that exposure to nickel, arsenic, cobalt and lead could disrupt the endocrine system by altering prenatal hormone concentrations during pregnancy.
“A delicate hormonal balance orchestrates pregnancy from conception to delivery and perturbations of this balance may negatively impact mother and fetus,” says lead author Zorimar Rivera-Núnez, an assistant professor in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. The researchers analysed blood and urine samples of 815 women enrolled in the Puerto Rico Test site for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) study.
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