Malformaciones congénitas en trabajadoras

To establish an association between parent 's occupation and congenital malformations, a case-control study was conduced among mothers who gave birth during 1991-1992 at the Central Hospital in Maracay. The fifth largest city in Venezuela. Cases were 48 newborns with birth defects and controls were 48 newborns without birth defects. Interviews were performed for members of both groups. An association was observed between the presence o malformations and first birth (OR=3.3) as well as for smoking (OR=1,9) and for occupational exposure of the father (OR= 1,8). None of the findings were statistically significant (p< 0.05). Althoug the findings do suggest an association, no conclusions can be drawn regarding cause and effect. A small sample size and arbitrary classification of data may have hidden a true association. We recommend that other studies be undertaken wich include a greater number of workers.