Fetal congenital deformity resulting from ambient inhalable particulate matters: a case-control study

Abstract

Objective To investigate the relationship between maternal exposure to airborne inhalable particulate matters (PM10) in the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of fetal congenital deformity.Methods Relationship between exposure to airborne PM10 during the 1st,2nd,3rd and 1-3 months of gestation and the risk of fetal anomalies in 203 pregnant women with deformed fetuses,which paralleled to normal pregnant women with discrepancy of conception date ＜30 days (control),were retrospectively analyzed by a case-control study from May 14,2007 to April 30,2012 in Fujian Medical University and Fuzhou General Hospital.Multivariate Logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders including maternal age,gravidity and parity was performed for data analysis.Results According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,178 pregnant women with deformed fetuses and 356 controlled cases were enrolled.The average levels of PM10 exposed in pregnant women Withfetal cardiovascular anomalies during 1-3 months of gestation were significantly higher than in the controls [(73.80±11.55) μg/m3 vs (70.49±10.83) μg/m3] (t=2.066,P=0.040),but PM10 exposure in the 1st,2nd and the 3rd month of pregnancy were comparable between the observed and control groups [(74.00±17.34) μg/m3 vs (71.70±15.39) μg/m3,t=0.992,P=0.322;(75.15±16.80) μg/m3 vs (71.38±15.66) μg/m3,t=1.625,P=0.106; (70.28±15.84) μg/m3 vs (69.41± 15.84) μg/m3,t=0.383,P=0.702].There were no significant differences of PM10 exposure levels when compared between facial-cervical anomalies,neurologic anomalies and total anomalies and their corresponding controls (P＞0.05).Each increased quartile of the PM10 exposure levels was associated with an elevated risk of fetal cardiovascular anomalies by 1.218 folds (OR =2.218,95 ％ CI:1.232-3.994,P=0.008).Paired multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed,a positive correlation between PM10 levels at 1-3 months of gestation and fetal cardiovascular anomalies (OR =1.106,95％CI:1.035-1.183,P =0.003).Conclusions Maternal exposure to PM10 in the first trimester of pregnancy possibly exerts negative effects on fetal cardiovascular anomalies. Key words: Pregnancy; Particulate matter; Air pollutants; Fetus; Congenital abnormalities; Case-control studies