The pilot field work has begun for this prospective study of early pregnancy loss (miscarriage and stillbirth) in relation to DDT exposure. Enrollment began June 1, 2010. Subjects are being enrolled from 6 villages in Limpopo Province, South Africa, and DDT is currently in use for malaria control in 3 of them. Based on our experience with the women enrolled as of Feburary 1, 2011, we decided that the inital protocol (part 1) would not yield the required number of pregnancies, so the protocol was revised (part 2) and enrollment should resume in October. 442 subjects were enrolled in part 1. About half of the enrolled subjects were from the villages sprayed with DDT. We are now planning to send the plasma specimens from the 442 subjects in part 1 to a laboratory for analysis of DDT levels. In addition, we will have the plasma analyzed for other analytes, to determine if any subjects have evidence of DDT-related abnormalities in liver function tests or other clinical chemistries. We also plan to assess exposure to indoor air pollution among the subjects in this study. Based on part 2, we will make a determination of whether the goal of studying miscarriages prospectively can be achieved.
| Whitworth, Kristina W; Baird, Donna D; Steiner, Anne Z et al. (2015) Anti-Müllerian hormone and lifestyle, reproductive, and environmental factors among women in rural South Africa. Epidemiology 26:429-35 |
| Whitworth, Kristina W; Bornman, Riana M S; Archer, Janet I et al. (2014) Predictors of plasma DDT and DDE concentrations among women exposed to indoor residual spraying for malaria control in the South African Study of Women and Babies (SOWB). Environ Health Perspect 122:545-52 |
