Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1993 Jul;101(Suppl 2):131–136. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101s2131

The epidemiology of disasters and adverse reproductive outcomes: lessons learned.

J F Cordero 1
PMCID: PMC1519923  PMID: 8243383

Abstract

A disaster has been defined as a disruption of human ecology that exceeds the capacity of the community to function normally. Little is known about the adverse effects of natural disasters on reproductive outcomes. Important lessons can be derived from several disasters caused by human factors, such as the Minamata Bay disaster. Adverse reproductive outcomes include infertility, early pregnancy loss, stillbirths, congenital malformations, and serious developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Recent disasters like the Chernobyl and Bhopal explosions have provided important lessons on the need for accurate and sound information about the risk of prenatal exposures for adverse reproductive outcomes. To study questions of adverse reproductive outcomes and disasters requires a well-planned approach. It should include early development of surveillance for adverse reproductive outcomes, analytic studies on the risk of disasters from direct and indirect effects, sensitive methods to measure early pregnancy loss, and long-term follow-up programs to assess outcomes such as developmental disabilities.

Full text

PDF
131

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baird D. D., Wilcox A. J., Weinberg C. R. Use of time to pregnancy to study environmental exposures. Am J Epidemiol. 1986 Sep;124(3):470–480. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114417. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bertazzi P. A. Industrial disasters and epidemiology. A review of recent experiences. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1989 Apr;15(2):85–100. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1867. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bertollini R., Di Lallo D., Mastroiacovo P., Perucci C. A. Reduction of births in Italy after the Chernobyl accident. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1990 Apr;16(2):96–101. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1803. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bhandari N. R., Syal A. K., Kambo I., Nair A., Beohar V., Sexena N. C., Dabke A. T., Agarwal S. S., Saxena B. N. Pregnancy outcome in women exposed to toxic gas at Bhopal. Indian J Med Res. 1990 Feb;92:28–33. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brent R. L. Radiation teratogenesis. Teratology. 1980 Jun;21(3):281–298. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420210304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Canfield R. E., O'Connor J. F., Birken S., Krichevsky A., Wilcox A. J. Development of an assay for a biomarker of pregnancy and early fetal loss. Environ Health Perspect. 1987 Oct;74:57–66. doi: 10.1289/ehp.877457. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Clarren S. K., Smith D. W., Harvey M. A., Ward R. H., Myrianthopoulos N. C. Hyperthermia--a prospective evaluation of a possible teratogenic agent in man. J Pediatr. 1979 Jul;95(1):81–83. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(79)80092-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Daniel C. S., Singh A. K., Siddiqui P., Mathur B. B., Das S. K., Agarwal S. S. Preliminary report on the spermatogenic function of male subjects exposed to gas at Bhopal. Indian J Med Res. 1987;86 (Suppl):83–86. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Deo M. G., Gangal S., Bhisey A. N., Somasundaram R., Balsara B., Gulwani B., Darbari B. S., Bhide S., Maru G. B. Immunological, mutagenic & genotoxic investigations in gas exposed population of Bhopal. Indian J Med Res. 1987;86 (Suppl):63–76. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Goswami H. K., Chandorkar M., Bhattacharya K., Vaidyanath G., Parmar D., Sengupta S., Patidar S. L., Sengupta L. K., Goswami R., Sharma P. N. Search for chromosomal variations among gas-exposed persons in Bhopal. Hum Genet. 1990 Jan;84(2):172–176. doi: 10.1007/BF00208935. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Harada M. Congenital Minamata disease: intrauterine methylmercury poisoning. Teratology. 1978 Oct;18(2):285–288. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420180216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Harvey M. A., McRorie M. M., Smith D. W. Suggested limits to the use of the hot tub and sauna by pregnant women. Can Med Assoc J. 1981 Jul 1;125(1):50–53. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Janerich D. T., Stark A. D., Greenwald P., Burnett W. S., Jacobson H. I., McCusker J. Increased leukemia, lymphoma, and spontaneous abortion in Western New York following a flood disaster. Public Health Rep. 1981 Jul-Aug;96(4):350–356. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kanhere S., Darbari B. S., Shrivastava A. K. Morphological study of placentae of expectant mothers exposed to gas leak at Bhopal. Indian J Med Res. 1987;86 (Suppl):77–82. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lammer E. J., Sever L. E., Oakley G. P., Jr Teratogen update: valproic acid. Teratology. 1987 Jun;35(3):465–473. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420350319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Layde P. M., Edmonds L. D., Erickson J. D. Maternal fever and neural tube defects. Teratology. 1980 Feb;21(1):105–108. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420210114. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Miller R. W., Mulvihill J. J. Small head size after atomic irradiation. Teratology. 1976 Dec;14(3):355–357. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420140311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Saxén L., Holmberg P. C., Nurminen M., Kuosma E. Sauna and congenital defects. Teratology. 1982 Jun;25(3):309–313. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420250307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sever L. E., Gilbert E. S., Hessol N. A., McIntyre J. M. A case-control study of congenital malformations and occupational exposure to low-level ionizing radiation. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Feb;127(2):226–242. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114799. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sinha K. K. Aflatoxin contamination of maize in flooded areas of Bhagalpur, India. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 Jun;53(6):1391–1393. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.6.1391-1393.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. South M. A., Sever J. L. Teratogen update: the congenital rubella syndrome. Teratology. 1985 Apr;31(2):297–307. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420310216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Stein Z., Susser M. The Dutch famine, 1944-1945, and the reproductive process. I. Effects on six indices at birth. Pediatr Res. 1975 Feb;9(2):70–76. doi: 10.1203/00006450-197502000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Susser M. Maternal weight gain, infant birth weight, and diet: causal sequences. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991 Jun;53(6):1384–1396. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/53.6.1384. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Trichopoulos D., Zavitsanos X., Koutis C., Drogari P., Proukakis C., Petridou E. The victims of chernobyl in Greece: induced abortions after the accident. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Oct 31;295(6606):1100–1100. doi: 10.1136/bmj.295.6606.1100. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Warkany J. Teratogen update: hyperthermia. Teratology. 1986 Jun;33(3):365–371. doi: 10.1002/tera.1420330316. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Weissman A., Siegler E., Neiger R., Jakobi P., Zimmer E. Z. The influence of increased seismic activity on pregnancy outcome. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1989 Jun;31(3):233–236. doi: 10.1016/0028-2243(89)90158-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Wilcox A. J., Weinberg C. R., O'Connor J. F., Baird D. D., Schlatterer J. P., Canfield R. E., Armstrong E. G., Nisula B. C. Incidence of early loss of pregnancy. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jul 28;319(4):189–194. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198807283190401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES