Weekly prenatal PM2.5 and NO2 exposures in preterm, early term, and full term infants: Decrements in birth weight and critical windows of susceptibility

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious studies have observed associations between birth weight and prenatal air pollution exposure, but there is not consensus on timing of critical windows of susceptibility. ObjectiveWe estimated the difference in birth weight among preterm, early term and full term births associated with weekly exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 throughout gestation. MethodsWe included all singleton live births in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (United States) between 2007 and 2012 occurring at or after 32 weeks gestational age (n = 497,897). Weekly ambient PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations were estimated at maternal residences using 1-km gridded data from ensemble-based models. We utilized a distributed lag nonlinear model to estimate the difference in birth weight associated with weekly exposures from the last menstrual period (week 0) through 31 weeks gestation for preterm births; through 36 weeks gestation for early term births; and through 38 weeks gestation for full term births. ResultsIn single-pollutant models, a 5 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure was associated with a reduction in birth weight among preterm births (−37.1 g [95% confidence interval [CI]: 60.8 g, −13.5 g]); early term births (−13.5 g [95% CI: 26.2 g, −0.67 g]); and full term births (−8.23 g [95% CI: 15.8 g, −0.68 g])]. In single-pollutant models, a 10 ppb increase in NO2 exposure was associated with a −11.7 g (95% CI: 14.46 g, −8.92 g) decrement in birth weight among full term births only. In models co-adjusted for PM2.5 and NO2, PM2.5 exposure was associated with reduced birth weight among preterm births (−36.9 g [95% CI: 61.9 g, −11.8 g]) and NO2 exposure was associated with reduced birth weight among full term births (−11.8 g [95% CI: 14.7 g, −8.94 g]). The largest decrements in birth weight were associated with PM2.5 exposure between approximately 10 and 26 weeks of pregnancy; for NO2 exposure, the largest decrements in birth weight in full term births were associated with exposure between weeks 6–18. ConclusionWe observed the largest and most persistent adverse associations between PM2.5 exposure and birth weight in preterm infants, and between NO2 exposure and birth weight in full term infants. Exposure during the first half of pregnancy had a greater impact on birthweight.