Maternal urinary carbofuranphenol levels before delivery and birth outcomes in Sheyang Birth Cohort

Abstract Exposure to carbamates has been linked with adverse health effects on developmental period. This study aimed to monitor exposure to carbofuranphenol of pregnant women from Sheyang Birth Cohort and investigate associations between prenatal exposure to carbofuranphenol and birth outcomes. During June 2009 to January 2010, 1100 pregnant women living in Sheyang County participated in our study and donated urine sample. Urinary carbofuranphenol concentration was measured by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Associations between urinary carbofuranphenol levels and infant birth outcomes were assessed by generalized linear models. Urinary carbofuranphenol concentrations varied from 0.01 to 395.40 μg/L (0.01–303.93 μg/g for creatinine adjusted), the geometric mean, median and inter quartile range are 0.81 μg/L (1.28 μg/g cr), 0.80 μg/L (1.23 μg/g cr) and 0.27–2.20 μg/L (0.47–3.11 μg/g cr), respectively. No statistically significant association between maternal urinary carbofuranphenol levels and birth outcomes was found in total infants and female infants. In male neonates, carbofuranphenol level was significantly associated with head circumference ( b  = − 0.226; 95% confidence interval: − 0.411, − 0.041; P = 0.01) and ponderal index ( b  = 0.043, 95% CI: 0.004, 0.083; P = 0.03). These findings suggested that the pregnant women were generally exposed to carbofuranphenol and prenatal exposure to carbofuranphenol might have adverse effects on fetal development.