First large-scale study exposes poisoning risks
One-tenth of all birth defects in Jiangsu, one of the mainland's richest provinces, are caused by environmental pollution, and half of the remaining cases are at least partly related to the environment, according to a five-year medical study in 13 cities.
From 2001 to 2006, the number of birth-defect cases on the mainland rose by 50 per cent to 1.2 million, but there has been no large-sample study to explain why it happened. The biggest data pool on the issue was amassed by the Jiangsu Birth Defects Intervention Programme, which tracked more than 26,000 pregnant women from 2001 to 2005.
The team, led by Hu Yali of Nanjing University, will receive the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award in Beijing today for its findings, the Chinese Medical Association confirmed yesterday.
Researchers found the most prevalent defect was congenital heart disease. The disease, closely related to air pollution, is often fatal and difficult to detect. The situation is particularly severe in some hospitals lacking proper equipment and trained staff.
Cleft lip was the second-most-common condition and also related to air pollution. Unlike heart disease, the defect can be detected by ultrasound and is not fatal, but many parents chose to abort fetuses with the condition, fearing that it might lead to some other, more severe defects.
The third most frequently reported disease was congenital hydrocephalus, or excessive fluid in infants' brains, which, according to some overseas studies, is sometimes a result of vehicle exhaust emissions.