We explored the association between maternal exposure to organochlorine pesticides and neural tube defects (NTDs) in the offspring. Blood was collected from 35 mothers and their offsprings with NTDs (case group) and from 35 mothers-neonate dyads without congenital anomalies (control group). The median blood levels of DDE, t-HCH and endosulphan in mothers in the case group and of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), total hexachlorocyclohexane (t-HCH) and endosulfan in the neonates with NTDs were significantly higher. Neonates with NTDs had 3.6 times more chances of having blood levels of endosulfan above the median level of the control group. Mothers delivering offsprings with NTDs had 11.3 times greater chances of having DDE levels above the median concentration in the control group. We recommend a restrained use of organochlorine pesticides like DDT, DDE, and endosulfan, while monitoring the expectant mothers closely for birth defects like NTDs.
Keywords: Birth defect; DDT; Dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene; Endosulfan; Teratogen.
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