Objective: This study examined the association between oral clefts and maternal residential proximity to waste sites or industries.
Methods: In a case-control study, maternal residences at birth of 1781 births with oral clefts and 4368 comparison births were related to locations of waste sites and industrial facilities in Texas through geographic information systems.
Results: Compared with women who lived farther, women who lived within a mile of these sites or facilities were not more likely to have offspring with oral clefts. Among women ≥35 years, oral clefts in offspring were associated with living within a mile of industrial facilities (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-4.2), especially smelters (OR = 15.0, 95% CI = 2.8-151).
Conclusion: These findings suggest that maternal residential proximity to industries might be associated with oral clefts in births to older mothers.