Maternal insecticide use during pregnancy and neonatal jaundice

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/su-miu082820.php

News Release 28-Aug-2020
Shinshu University

The data of 61,751 pregnant women, out of approximately 100,000 collected by the Japan Environment and Children's Study analyzed the association between the maternal usage of insecticides and insect repellents during pregnancy and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. The Koshin Unit Center at Shinshu University played a central role in this analysis. Newborns appear jaundiced, or appear to have yellow skin and sclera of the eyes when bilirubin in the blood becomes too high. When bilirubin builds up in the brain and is left untreated, neurotoxic damage can occur in newborns. Phototherapy is most often used to treat neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

This study found that frequent use of insecticide spray indoors resulted in 1.21 times higher incidence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy. On the other hand, when a spray or lotion-type insect repellent was used frequently, the incidence was 0.70 times lower. No correlation was observed between neonatal hyperbilirubinemia requiring treatment regarding the use of insect repellents for clothing, mosquito coils, electric mosquito repellents, pesticides and pesticides for gardening.

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