Frequency of reproductive dysfunction in Hawaii by race and judicial district 1968-1982
Burch, T.A.
R and S Report. Hawaii. Department of Health. Research and Statistics Office 1984(51): 1-26
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0093-3481 PMID: 12267634 Document Number: 418508
The frequency of births with congenital defects, infants with very low birth weight, late fetal loss, and neonatal deaths is contrasted with pesticide/herbicide usage in Hawaii, using the variables percent of agricultural workers, type of agriculture, race of mother, and judicial district of mother's residence for the 5 year periods around 1970, 1975, and 1980. Rates per 1000 live births are calculated for each geographic group, for each of the time periods, and for the total combined time period; similar rates for Caucasian, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Part Hawaiian, Japanese, and Negro mothers are calculated for the entire 15 year period. Results show that: 1) there were more birth defects in 1968-1972 than in 1978-1982 in the state as a whole; 2) there was no correlation between the total and per capita use of pesticides by county and the frequency of reproductive dysfunctions; 3) there was a negative correlation between the ranks for neonatal deaths and percent of agricultural workers when they were ranked from lowest to highest; and 4) the correlation between the ranks of birth defects, low birth weight infants, and late fetal deaths, and the ranks of percent of agricultural workers, were not significant. This study shows that there has been considerable variation between birth defects, low birth weight infants, late fetal loss, and neonatal mortality from one judicial district to another. However, it is not possible to evaluate the correlation between the districts with high rates of a reporductive dysfunction and possible exposure to known environmental toxins.