Parent's Occupation and Isolated Orofacial Clefts in Norway: A Population-based Case-control Study

• Published in: Annals of epidemiology Vol. 17; no. 10; pp. 763 - 771
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Ruby H.N, Wilcox, Allen J, Moen, Bente E, McConnaughey, D. Robert, Lie, Rolv T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2007
• Subjects: Abnormalities; Adult; Cleft Lip; Cleft Lip - epidemiology; Cleft Palate; Cleft Palate - epidemiology; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Internal Medicine; Male; Norway - epidemiology; Occupations; Occupations - statistics & numerical data; Parents; Norway; Cleft Lip; CPO; OR; aOR; Occupations; Abnormalities; CI; CLP; cleft lip with or without cleft palate; Parents; odds ratio; adjusted odds ratio; cleft palate only; Cleft Palate; confidence interval
• ISSN: 1047-2797; 1873-2585
• DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2007.04.008

Purpose Occupational factors have been associated with risk of orofacial clefts in offspring, although data are limited. We explored associations between parent's occupation and isolated orofacial clefts using a population-based case-control study. Methods Cases were restricted to infants born with an isolated orofacial cleft in Norway during the period 1996 to 2001 (314 with cleft lip with or without palate [CLP] and 118 with cleft palate only [CPO]). Controls ( n = 763) were chosen randomly from all Norwegian live births. We considered full-time employment during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Results Several maternal occupations previously associated with clefts showed some evidence of association, including hairdressers (CLP; adjusted odds ratio = 4.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.99–23). Mothers working in manufacturing and in food production had increased odds for babies with CPO (3.8; 1.3–11, and 7.1; 1.5–33, respectively). Among fathers' occupations previously associated with clefts, an association was suggested for woodworking both for CLP (1.7; 0.85–3.2) and for CPO (2.0; 0.82–4.7). Fathers working as professional housekeepers showed substantial increased odds of CPO (12; 3.3–46). Conclusions Taken together with previous studies, these results suggest that exposures in certain occupations may influence the risk of orofacial clefting in offspring. Specific exposures accompanying these occupations warrant exploration.