Tracing drinking water to its source: An ecological study of the relationship between textile mills and gastroschisis in North Carolina

Gastroschisis is a rare birth defect that has increased in prevalence over the past several decades but the etiology of the disease is largely unknown. Using data from the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program, we estimated multilevel logistic regression models to evaluate the association between drinking water source and upstream textile mills and the risk of a gastroschisis birth. Results indicate that while prenatal exposure to upstream textile mill effluent does not have an impact on the risk of a gastroschisis birth, women relying on public water systems that draw from a surface water source have an elevated risk. These findings suggest the possibility of a contaminant found in higher levels in surface water compared to groundwater.