Study Center: Iowa
The Iowa Center collaborates with the Iowa Registry for Congenital and Inherited Disorders (IRCID) to identify children with birth defects in Iowa. Since 1983, the Iowa Registry has monitored birth defects in all 99 Iowa counties. The Iowa Center was established in 1996 and enrolled families statewide in the NBDPS. Iowa families have been very willing to participate in the NBDPS. This participation provides the opportunity to study risk factors for birth defects among a rural population.
Contact
Phone: 501-214-2222
E-mail: ar@nbdps.org
Website: publichealth.uams.edu
Principal Investigator
![](https://nbdps.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IA_Paul_Romitti-1.png)
Paul Romitti, PhD
Principal Investigator
Paul Romitti, PhD, is a Professor of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health at The University of Iowa and IRCID Director. Dr. Romitti leads the Iowa Center and directs the interview and sample collection and epidemiologic and gene-environment data analyses for the Center. Dr. Romitti also leads the NBDPS research group to study the effects of tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and illicit drugs on birth defects and is examining the impact of pesticide exposure on birth defects.
Local Activities and Research
- Study tobacco and alcohol use and nutrition as risk factors for birth defects
- Examine the link between pesticide exposure and birth defects
- Study the effects of compounds in drinking water and birth defects
- Identify possible genetic risk factors for birth defects
- Understand the long-term outcomes among children with birth defects
Notable Research Findings
Kutbi H, Wehby GL, Moreno Uribe LM, Romitti PA, Carmichael S, Shaw GM, Olshan AF, DeRoo L, Rasmussen SA, Murray JC, Wilcox A, Lie RT, Munger RG. (2017) Maternal underweight and obesity and risk of orofacial clefts in a large international consortium of population-based studies. Int J Epidemiol 46:190-199.
Suhl J, Romitti PA, Rocheleau C, Cao Y, Burns TL, Conway K, Bell EM, Stewart P, Langlois P, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2018) Parental occupational pesticide exposure and nonsyndromic orofacial clefts. J Occup Environ Hyg 15:641-653.
Weyer P, Rhoads A, Suhl J, Luben TJ, Conway KM, Langlois PH, Shen D, Liang D, Puzhankara S, Anderka M, Bell E, Feldkamp MC, Hoyt AT, Mosley B, Reefhuis J, Romitti PA, National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2018) Drinking water disinfection byproducts and risk of orofacial clefts in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Birth Defects Res 110:1027-1042.
Justice CM, Cuellar A, Bala K, Sabourin JA, Cunningham ML, Crawford K, Phipps JM, Zhou Y, Cilliers D, Byren JC, Johnson D, Wall SA, Morton JEV, Noons P, Sweeney E, Weber A, Rees KEM, Wilson LC, Simeonov E, Kaneva R, Yaneva N, Georgiev K, Bussarsky A, Senders C, Zwienenberg M, Boggan J, Roscioli T, Tamburrini G, Barba M, Conway K, Sheffield VC, Brody L, Mills JL, Kay D, Sicko RJ, Langlois PH, Tittle RK, Botto LD, Jenkins MM, LaSalle JM, Lattanzi W, Wilkie AOM, Wilson AF†, Romitti PA†, Boyadjiev SA†, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2020) A genome-wide association study implicates the BMP7 locus as a risk factor for nonsyndromic metopic craniosynostosis. †co-senior authors Hum Genet, 139:1077-1090.
Cao Y, Rhoads A, Burns TL, Carnahan R, Conway KM, Werler MM, Mitchell A, Romitti PA and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2021) Maternal use of cough medications during early pregnancy and selected birth defects: a USA, multisite case-control study. BMJ Open 11 e053604.
Pitsava G, Feldkamp ML, Pankratz N, Lane J, Kay DM, Conway KM, Shaw GM, Reefhuis J, Jenkins MM, Almli LM, Olshan AF, Pangilinan F, Brody LC, Sicko RJ, Hobbs CA, McGoldrick D, Nickerson DA, Finnell RH, Mullikin J, Romitti PA†, Mills JL†, University of Washington Center for Mendelian Genomics, NISC Comparative Sequencing Program and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2021) Exome sequencing of child-parent trios with bladder exstrophy: Findings in 26 children. †co-senior authors Am J Med Genet A 185:3028-3041.
Finn J, Suhl J, Kancherla V, Conway KM, Oleson J, Sidhu A, Nestoridi E, Fisher SC, Rasmussen SA, Yang W, Romitti PA and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2022) Maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption and congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Birth Defects Res 114:746-758.
Palmsten K, Suhl J, Conway KM, Kharbanda EO, Ailes EC, Cragan JD, Nestoridi E, Papadopoulos EA, Kerr SM, Young SG, DeStefano F, Romitti PA and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2022) Influenza vaccination during pregnancy and risk of selected major structural non-cardiac birth defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study 2006-2011. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 31:851-862.
Pitsava G, Feldkamp ML, Pankratz N, Lane J, Kay DM, Conway KM, Hobbs C, Shaw GM, Reefhuis J, Jenkins MM, Almli LM, Moore C, Werler M, Browne ML, Cunniff C, Olshan AF, Pangilinan F, Brody LC, Sicko RJ, Finnell RH, Bamshad MJ, McGoldrick D, Nickerson DA, Mullikin JC, Romitti PA†, Mills JL† UW Center for Mendelian Genomics, NISC Comparative Sequencing Program and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2022) Exome sequencing identifies variants in infants with sacral agenesis. †co-senior authors Birth Defects Res 114:215-227.
Suhl J, Conway KM, Rhoads A, Langlois PH, Feldkamp ML, Michalski AM, Oleson J, Sidhu A, Kancherla V, Obrycki J, Mazumdar M, Romitti PA, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2022) Pre-pregnancy exposure to arsenic in diet and non-cardiac birth defects. Public Health Nutr 27:1-13.