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The Risk of Having a Low Birth Weight or Preterm Infant among Cosmetologists in New York State

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Abstract

Objectives This study sought to determine if female licensed cosmetologists have a higher risk of low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age, and preterm delivery compared to two different comparison groups. Methods This retrospective cohort study matched 15,003 licensed cosmetologists and a comparison group of 4,246 licensed realtors to birth records in New York State from 1997 to 2003. A second comparison group from the general population of New York State (n = 12,171) was frequency matched to cosmetologists on child’s year of birth, mother’s ethnicity and mother’s education. Results A positive association was found for low birth weight when comparing cosmetologists to realtors (adjusted odds ratio 1.36 (95% confidence interval: 1.09, 1.70)). Associations were stronger in non-whites than in whites in each birth weight comparison. Associations observed for small-for-gestational-age or preterm births with either comparison group were close to the null or had wide confidence intervals that included the null. Conclusions We observed a slightly increased risk for having a child born low birth weight among cosmetologists compared to another group of licensed professionals. The risk was greater among non-white races in each comparison.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ms. Sarah Davis for her help with matching the occupational cohort data to birth certificates. We would also like to thank the National Birth Defects Prevention Study for their support of this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York State Department of Health, Center for Environmental Health, 547 River Street, Room 200, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Michele L. Herdt-Losavio, Shao Lin, Charlotte M. Druschel, Syni-An Hwang, Matthew P. Mauer & G. Anders Carlson

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  1. Michele L. Herdt-Losavio
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  2. Shao Lin
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  3. Charlotte M. Druschel
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  4. Syni-An Hwang
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  5. Matthew P. Mauer
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Correspondence to Michele L. Herdt-Losavio.

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Herdt-Losavio, M.L., Lin, S., Druschel, C.M. et al. The Risk of Having a Low Birth Weight or Preterm Infant among Cosmetologists in New York State. Matern Child Health J 13, 90–97 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0324-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0324-6

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