Association of ambient PM1 exposure with maternal blood pressure and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in China

Abstract

Evidence concerning PM1 exposure, maternal blood pressure (BP), and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) is sparse. We evaluated the associations using 105,063 participants from a nationwide cohort. PM1 concentrations were evaluated using generalized additive model. BP was measured according to the American Heart Association recommendations. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the PM1-BP/HDP associations. Each 10μg/m3 higher first-trimester PM1 was significantly associated with 1.696mmHg and 1.056mmHg higher first-trimester SBP and DBP, and with 11.4% higher odds for HDP, respectively. The above associations were stronger among older participants (>35 years) or those educated longer than 17 years or those with higher household annual income (> 400,000 CNY). To conclude, first-trimester PM1 were positively associated with BP/HDP, which may be modified by maternal age, education level, and household annual income. Further research is warranted to provide more information for both health management of HDP and environmental policies enactment.