DDT Linked to Early Miscarriages

A recent study conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health has shown that women with high levels of DDT in their bloodstream are far more likely to miscarry in the early weeks of pregnancy than those with lower levels. The participants in the study were newly married, healthy, nonsmoking textile workers in China, who were trying to get pregnant. The women ranged from ages 20 to 34. Even though DDT was banned decades ago, the chemical residue can be found in most people, no matter how far they lived from where DDT was used or produced. The Chinese women who participated in this study were found to have an average level of DDT residues about ten times higher than those ordinarily found in the United States. The levels were similar to those found in countries where DDT was more recently used. The study found that the women who had the most DDT in their system were more likely to miscarry in the early weeks of pregnancy, before they even knew they were pregnant. The researchers found that for every additional 10 nanograms of DDT per gram of serum, a woman’s chance of early miscarriage rose by about 17 percent. The chance that DDT is linked to infertility was not investigated by this study.

For more information: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050912124225.htm
For the full version of the study: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/kwi275?ijkey=h9AKIxsz45iaLkB&keytype=ref