Retrospective evaluation of reproductive performance of workers exposed to ethylene dibromide (EDB).

An attempt has been made to examine retrospectively any antifertility influence of ethylene dibromide (EDB) by studying the reproductive performance of men exposed to EDB, exclusively on the basis of their reproductive histories in terms of live births to their wives, subsequent to their occupational exposure to EDB. The number of live, putatively legitimate, natural children born to the wives was compared to the expected number derived from national fertility tables published for successive birth cohorts of U.S. women by the National Center for Health Statistics. The indirect standardization method was used to adjust for the confounding effects of maternal age, parity, race and calendar year in deriving the expected births. The number of observed births was expressed as a percentage of the expected in assessing the workers' reproductive performance. One of the four plants studied showed a significant decrease in fertility.