Environmental risk factors associated with biliary atresia in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

• Main Authors: Larisse Longo, Jéssica Tonin Ferrari, Giovana Regina Weber Hoss, Leila Xavier Sinigaglia Fratta, Sandra Maria Gonçalves Vieira, Themis Reverbel da Silveira, Fernando Antônio de Abreu e Silva, Maria Teresa Vieira Sanseverino, Jorge Luiz dos Santos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre ; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) 2017-07-01
• Series: Clinical and Biomedical Research
• Subjects: Biliary atresia; environmental risk factor; etiology; seasonality; smoking
• Online Access: http://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/hcpa/article/view/71572
• ISSN: 0101-5575; 2357-9730

Biliary atresia (BA) seems to be a multifactorial disorder in which environmental factors interact with the patient’s genetic constitution. This study aimed to analyze information concerning environmental risk factors associated with BA in southern Brazil. A case-control study with mothers of patients with BA and mothers of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) was conducted. Inquiry included questions related to exposition to environmental risk factors during the periconceptional and gestational (second and third trimesters) periods. Mothers of BA patients had smoked during pregnancy more frequently in comparison with the mothers of CF patients, but no significant difference was found in a multivariate analysis. There was no between group difference in terms of seasonality, but the multivariate analysis showed a significant difference within the BA group between date of conception in winter compared to other seasons. In conclusion, smoking during pregnancy seemed to increase the risk of BA while date of conception in winter decreased it. Keywords: Biliary atresia; environmental risk factor; etiology; seasonality; smoking