Correlation between exposure to magnetic fields and embryonic development in the first trimester

Xiu-Juan Su; Wei Yuan; Hui Tan; Xiang-Yun Liu; Dan Li; De-Kun Li; Guo-Ying Huang; Li-Wen Zhang; Mao-Hua Miao

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101050

Correlation between exposure to magnetic fields and embryonic development in the first trimester

PLoS One. 2014 Jun 30;9(6):e101050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101050. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Xiu-Juan Su¹, Wei Yuan², Hui Tan³, Xiang-Yun Liu², Dan Li⁴, De-Kun Li⁵, Guo-Ying Huang⁶, Li-Wen Zhang⁷, Mao-Hua Miao²

Affiliations

¹ Clinical and Translational Research Center, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China.
² Department of Reproductive Epidemiology and Social Science, National Population and Family Planning Key Laboratory of Contraceptive Drugs and Devices, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai, PR China.
³ Department of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Maternal and Child Hospital of Xuhui District, Shanghai, PR China.
⁵ Division of Research, Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California, United States of America.
⁶ Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, School of Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Objective: To explore the correlation between maternal magnetic field (MF) exposure in daily life and embryonic development.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 149 pregnant women who were seeking induced abortion of unwanted pregnancies. Participating women were asked to wear an EMDEX Lite magnetic field meter for a 24-h period to obtain MF exposure level within 4 weeks following the abortion. Embryonic bud and sac lengths were measured through B-mode ultrasound before the surgical abortion. Embryo sections were prepared and examined for histological changes, and the apoptosis status of the deciduas was examined using the TUNEL apoptosis assay.

Results: Embryonic bud length was inversely associated with maternal daily MF exposure level; the association was statistically significant at the time-weighted-average and 75th percentile of MF exposure levels, with coefficients of -3.09 (P = 0.0479) and -3.07 (P = 0.0228), respectively. Logistic regression for examining the risk of higher MF exposure indicated that women with her 75th percentile of daily MF measurements ≥0.82 mG had a 3.95-fold risk of having a fetus with a shorter embryonic bud length than those whose daily MF exposure were <0.82 mG. MF exposure was associated with a higher degree of apoptosis, but the association was not statistically significant. We failed to find a statistical correlation between MF exposure and embryonic sac length and histological changes in the first trimester.

Conclusion: Prenatal MF exposure may have an adverse effect on embryonic development.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Embryonic Development*
Female
Humans
Magnetic Fields*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Trimester, First / physiology*
Risk Factors
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work is supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 program), 2010CB529504, (URL: http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portal0/default152.htm). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.