Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 18, Issue 19, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph181910107
Keywords
acetaminophen; race/ethnicity; childhood asthma; psychosocial stress; pregnancy
Funding
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) [R01 ES010960-01]
- Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (NIEHS) [5 P30 ES07048]
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The study found that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen in pregnant women is associated with higher risks for asthma diagnosis, wheezing, and dry cough in children. This risk is particularly evident in Black/African American and Asian/Pacific Islander children, as well as when mothers experience high psychosocial stress during pregnancy. Further research is needed to assess the relationship between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and other social/environmental stressors with clinically confirmed outcomes.
Acetaminophen is the most common over-the-counter pain and fever medication used by pregnant women. While European studies suggest acetaminophen exposure in pregnancy could affect childhood asthma development, findings are less consistent in other populations. We evaluated whether maternal prenatal acetaminophen use is associated with childhood asthmatic symptoms (asthma diagnosis, wheeze, dry cough) in a Los Angeles cohort of 1201 singleton births. We estimated risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for childhood asthmatic outcomes according to prenatal acetaminophen exposure. Effect modification by maternal race/ethnicity and psychosocial stress during pregnancy was evaluated. The risks for asthma diagnosis (RR = 1.39, 95% CI 0.96, 2.00), wheezing (RR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.01, 1.54) and dry cough (RR =1.35, 95% CI 1.06, 1.73) were higher in children born to mothers who ever used acetaminophen during pregnancy compared with non-users. Black/African American and Asian/Pacific Islander children showed a greater than two-fold risk for asthma diagnosis and wheezing associated with the exposure. High maternal psychosocial stress also modified the exposure-outcome relationships. Acetaminophen exposure during pregnancy was associated with childhood asthmatic symptoms among vulnerable subgroups in this cohort. A larger study that assessed prenatal acetaminophen exposure with other social/environmental stressors and clinically confirmed outcomes is needed.
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