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Prenatal ambient air pollution exposure and small for gestational age birth in the Puget Sound Air Basin

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Abstract

Several studies have identified high concentrations of air pollution as harmful to the developing fetus, but few studies of traffic-derived air pollution and birth outcomes have been conducted in areas of low to moderate air pollution. We identified singleton live births between 1997 and 2005 (N = 367,046 births) in the Puget Sound Air Basin of Washington State. We estimated nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure using a land use regression model of traffic, PM2.5 exposure from the nearest community monitor, and proximity to highways/roadways for the residential location of all subjects. Logistic regression estimates of odds ratios (OR) of small for gestational age (SGA) and low birth weight (<2,500 g) among term births were calculated. We observed a modest association between SGA births with increasing quartile of first trimester NO2 exposure: second (OR = 1.01, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.97, 1.04), third (OR = 1.06, 95 % CI 1.03, 1.10), and fourth (OR = 1.08, 95 % CI 1.04, 1.12) (p trend <0.001). We did not observe an association between PM2.5 and SGA or low birth weight among term births. Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to traffic-derived air pollutants has a modest effect on fetal growth in a region with low overall air pollutant concentrations. Given the modest associations, future studies in similar settings that maximize the opportunity to address potential residual confounding are needed.

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Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

g:

Gram

LUR:

Land use regression

m:

Meters

μg/m3 :

Micrograms per cubic meter

NO:

Nitric oxide

NO2 :

Nitrogen dioxide

PM2.5 :

Particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter

OR:

Odds ratio

ppb:

Parts per billion

SD:

Standard deviation

SGA:

Small for gestational age

US:

United States

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Ambulatory Pediatric Association/AHRQ Young Investigator Grant Program which provided funds for this analysis and the Health Canada Border Air Quality Study—Western Pilot Initiative that provided funds for creating the LUR models. British Columbia Centres for Disease Control Agreement. Grant No. GEH0404.

Conflicts of interest

Each author has no conflicts of interest to report.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, 2001 West 8th, M/S CW 8-6, Seattle, WA, 98121, USA

    Sheela Sathyanarayana & Catherine J. Karr

  2. Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98121, USA

    Sheela Sathyanarayana & Chuan Zhou

  3. Independent Health, Buffalo, NY, 14221, USA

    Carole B. Rudra

  4. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Tim Gould & Tim Larson

  5. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Sheela Sathyanarayana, Tim Larson, Jane Koenig & Catherine J. Karr

Authors
  1. Sheela Sathyanarayana
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  2. Chuan Zhou
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  3. Carole B. Rudra
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  4. Tim Gould
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  5. Tim Larson
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  6. Jane Koenig
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  7. Catherine J. Karr
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheela Sathyanarayana.

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Sathyanarayana, S., Zhou, C., Rudra, C.B. et al. Prenatal ambient air pollution exposure and small for gestational age birth in the Puget Sound Air Basin. Air Qual Atmos Health 6, 455–463 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-012-0182-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-012-0182-7

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