Arsenic Exposure During Pregnancy and Size at Birth: A Prospective Cohort Study in Bangladesh

The authors evaluated the association of prenatal arsenic exposure with size at birth (birth weight, birth length, head and chest circumferences). This prospective cohort study, based on 1,578 mother-infant pairs, was conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh, in 2002-2003. Arsenic exposure was assessed by analysis of arsenic in urine collected at around gestational weeks 8 and 30. The association of arsenic exposure with size at birth was assessed by linear regression analyses. In analysis over the full range of exposure (6-978 mu g/L), no dose-effect association was found with birth size. However, significant negative dose effects were found with birth weight and head and chest circumferences at a low level of arsenic exposure (< 100 mu g/L in urine). In this range of exposure, birth weight decreased by 1.68 (standard error (SE), 0.62) g for each 1-mu g/L increase of arsenic in urine. For head and chest circumferences, the corresponding reductions were 0.05 (SE, 0.03) mm and 0.14 (SE, 0.03) mm per 1 mu g/L, respectively. No further negative effects were shown at higher levels of arsenic exposure. The indicated negative effect on birth size at a low level of arsenic exposure warrants further investigation.