Preterm Birth and Metal Mixture Exposure among Pregnant Women from the Navajo Birth Cohort Study
The Navajo Birth Cohort Study examined how exposure to mixtures of metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and uranium, affects preterm birth among Indigenous women. Using a Bayesian mixtures analysis, researchers identified subgroups with elevated exposures and found that the most highly exposed women had nearly three times the risk of preterm birth compared to the lowest exposure group. The findings underscore the need for further research on combined environmental exposures and maternal health disparities.
