Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
Volume 118, Issue 5, Pages 705-711Publisher
US DEPT HEALTH HUMAN SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0901228
Keywords
air pollution; aromatic hydrocarbons; cohort study; exposure assessment; fetal growth; INMA study; land use regression; nitrogen dioxide; ultrasonography
Funding
- Carlos III Health Institute
- Spanish Ministry of Health [G03/176]
- Red de Centros de Investigacion en Epidemiologia y Salud Publica [C03/09]
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica
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BACKGROUND: Few studies have used longitudinal ultrasound measurements to assess the effect of traffic-related air pollution on fetal growth. OBJECTIVE: We examined the relationship between exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and aromatic hydrocarbons [benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, and o-xylene (BTEX)] on fetal growth assessed by 1,692 ultrasound measurements among 562 pregnant women from the Sabadell cohort of the Spanish INMA (Environment and Childhood) study. METHODS: We used temporally adjusted land-use regression models to estimate exposures to NO(2) and BTEX. We fitted mixed-effects models to estimate longitudinal growth curves for femur length (FL), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), biparietal diameter (BPD), and estimated fetal weight (EFW). Unconditional and conditional SD scores were calculated at 12, 20, and 32 weeks of gestation. Sensitivity analyses were performed considering time-activity patterns during pregnancy. RESULTS: Exposure to BTEX from early pregnancy was negatively associated with growth in BPD during weeks 20-32. None of the other fetal growth parameters were associated with exposure to air pollution during pregnancy. When considering only women who spent < 2 hr/day in nonresidential outdoor locations, effect estimates were stronger and statistically significant for the association between NO(2) and growth in HC during weeks 12-20 and growth in AC, BPD, and EFW during weeks 20-32. CONCLUSIONS: Our results lend some support to an effect of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants from early pregnancy on fetal growth during mid-pregnancy.
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