The Relationship between Pesticide Exposure and Umbilical Serum IGF-1 Levels and Low-birth Weight: A Case-control Study in Brebes, Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Birth weight is very important for long-term physical, mental, health, and brain development. Pesticide exposure is thought to interfere with fetal growth, among others, through disruption of the function of the insulin-like growth hormone-1 (IGF-1) hormone. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between exposure to pesticides during pregnancy and low-birth weight (LBW) through the disruption of the IGF-1 hormone. METHODS: In a case-control study, babies born with LBW (birth weight <2500 g) and those born later with normal birth weight (=2500 g) at 2 hospitals in Brebes were chosen as cases and controls, respectively. Maternal pesticide exposure was measured by interview using a questionnaire. Umbilical serum IGF-I level was tested using the ELISA method. RESULTS: There was a significant relationship between pesticide exposure during pregnancy and LBW (OR 6.8; 95% CI 2.0 to 22.9) and low umbilical serum IGF-1 levels (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.2 to 11.1). There was a significant relationship between low umbilical serum IGF-1 levels and LBW (OR 8.9; 95% CI 2.4 to 32.1). CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between pesticide exposure during pregnancy and LBW through the umbilical serum IGF-1 reduction pathway.