Case-control study of association of maternal recall of diarrhea or use of antimicrobials in the periconceptional period and neural tube defects
Abstract
In June 1995 a case-control study was initiated by the Texas Department of Health among Mexican American women residing in the fourteen counties of the Texas-Mexico border. Case-women had carried infants with neural tube defect. Control-women had given birth to infants without neural tube defects. The case-control protocol included a general questionnaire which elicited information regarding illnesses experienced and antibiotics taken from three months prior to conception to three months after conception. An assessment of the associations between periconceptional diarrhea and the risk of neural tube defects indicated that the unadjusted association of diarrhea and risk of neural tube defect was significant (OR = 3.3, CI = 1.4–7.6). The unadjusted association of use of oral antimicrobials and risk of neural tube defect was also significant (OR = 3.4, CI = 1.6–7.3). These associations persisted among women who had no fever during the periconceptional period and were present irrespective of folate intake. Diarrhea was associated with an increased risk of NTD independent of use of antimicrobials. The converse was also true; antimicrobials were associated with an increased risk of NTD independent of diarrhea. Further research regarding these potentially modifiable risk factors is warranted. Replication of these findings could result in interventions in addition to folate supplementation.
Subject Area
Public health|Obstetrics|Gynecology|Cellular biology
Recommended Citation
Felkner, Marilyn Moss, "Case-control study of association of maternal recall of diarrhea or use of antimicrobials in the periconceptional period and neural tube defects" (2001). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI3027645.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI3027645