Abstract
BackgroundStudies suggest that exposure to ambient air pollution during pregnancy may be associated with increased risks of birth defects (BDs), but conclusions have been inconsistent. This study describes the ethnic distribution of major BDs and examines the relationship between air pollution and BDs among different ethnic groups in Liuzhou city, China.MethodsSurveillance data of infants born in 114 registered hospitals in Liuzhou in 2019 were analyzed to determine the epidemiology of BDs across five major ethnic groups.Concentrations of six air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, NO2, O3) were obtained from the Liuzhou Environmental Protection Bureau. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between ambient air pollution exposure and risk of BDs.ResultsAmong 32,549 infants, 635 infants had BDs, yielding a prevalence of 19.5 per 1000 perinatal infants. Dong ethnic group had the highest prevalence of BDs (2.59%), followed by Yao (2.57%), Miao (2.35%), Zhuang (2.07%), and Han (1.75%). Relative to the Han ethnic group, infants from Zhuang, Miao, Yao and Dong groups had lower risks of congenital heart disease, polydactyly, and hypospadias. The Zhuang ethnic group had higher risks of severe thalassemia, cleft lip and/or palate, and syndactyls. Overall BDs were positively correlated with air pollutants PM10 (aOR =1.14, 95% CI:1.12 ~ 2.43; aOR =1.51, 95% CI:1.13 ~ 2.03 for per 10μg/mg3 increment) and CO (aOR =1.36, 95% CI:1.14 ~ 2.48; aOR =1.75, 95% CI:1.02 ~ 3.61 for every 1 mg /m3 increment) in second and third month of pregnancy. SO2 was also significantly associated with BDs in the second month before the pregnancy (aOR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.20 ~ 3.22) and third month of pregnancy (aOR =1.75; 95% CI:1.02 ~ 3.61). Congenital heart disease, polydactyl, cleft lip and/or palate were also significantly associated with PM10, SO2 and CO exposures. However, no significant association was found between birth defects and O3, PM2.5 and NO2 exposures (P > 0.05).ConclusionThis study provides a comprehensive description of ethnic differences in BDs in Southwest China and broadens the evidence of the association between air pollution exposure during gestation and BDs.
Highlights
Studies suggest that exposure to ambient air pollution during pregnancy may be associated with increased risks of birth defects (BDs), but conclusions have been inconsistent
Using the ambient air pollution monitoring network and the BDs monitoring system, we investigated all infants born in ethnic minority areas of Liuzhou between January 2019 and December 2019 to study whether air pollution was associated with an increased risk of BDs
This study provided a comprehensive description of ethnic differences in BDs in Southwest China and broadens the evidence of association between air pollution exposure and BDs
Summary
Studies suggest that exposure to ambient air pollution during pregnancy may be associated with increased risks of birth defects (BDs), but conclusions have been inconsistent. Birth defects (BDs) are functional, structural, or metabolic abnormalities that occur before birth, usually as a result of chromosomal abnormalities, congenital malformations, genetic and metabolic disorders, and functional abnormalities [1]. They are an important cause of abortion, stillbirth, and death of pregnant mothers, as well as the leading cause of infant and child death in the first year of life [2, 3]. With the rapid development of urbanization and the rise of industrial modernization, air pollution has become an increasingly serious threat to human health
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