Associations between Vehicle Exhaust Particles and Ozone at Home Address and Birth Weight

David Olsson,Bertil Forsberg,Christer Johansson

doi:10.3390/ijerph17113836

David Olsson, Bertil Forsberg + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113836

Copy DOI

Abstract

We have studied the associations between exhaust particles and birth weight. Adjustments were made for ozone and potential confounding factors at the individual level. The study included all singletons conceived between August 2003 and February 2013 with mothers living in Greater Stockholm. We obtained record-based register data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Data concerning the parents were provided by Statistics Sweden. Exposure levels for nearly 187,000 pregnancies were calculated using a validated air quality dispersion model with input from a detailed emission database. A higher socioeconomic status was associated with higher levels of exhaust particles at the home address. In this region, with rather low air pollution levels, the associations between levels of exhaust particles and birth weight were negative for all three of the studied exposure windows (i.e., first and second trimester and full pregnancy). For the entire pregnancy, the linear decrease in birth weight was 7.5 grams (95% CI−12.0; −2.9) for an increase in exposure, corresponding to the inter quartile range (IQR = 209 ng/m3). We also found that the risk of being born small for gestational age increased with the level of exhaust particles in all three exposure windows, but these associations were not statistically significant.

Highlights

Restricted fetal growth, often studied as small for gestational age (SGA) or term low birth weight, is an important predictor of neonatal mortality and morbidity, and a risk factor for adult mortality and morbidity
Even though the share of the total number of diesel vehicles has increased during the period, from approximately 11% in 2003 to 31% in 2013, the total road traffic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and PM-exhaust has reduced between 2003 and 2013 due to the renewal of the vehicle fleet
We found local levels of vehicle exhaust particles at the residential address during pregnancy to be associated with a lower birth weight in Greater Stockholm, Sweden, an area with relatively low levels of air pollution

Summary

Introduction

Restricted fetal growth, often studied as small for gestational age (SGA) or term low birth weight, is an important predictor of neonatal mortality and morbidity, and a risk factor for adult mortality and morbidity. This review found 23 studies investigating the impact of prenatal exposure to particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5), on the birth weights of infants, and 12 of them provided a significantly negative association between the level of exposure and birth weight. Among the nine included studies that investigated the impact of PM2.5 on SGA, five observed a significant association Many of these studies on birth weight and SGA assessed the effects associated with exposure during different time windows, in particular, trimester-wise and for the full pregnancy.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion