Prenatal Exposure to Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Risk of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Author Information
Author(s): Choi Hyunok, Rauh Virginia, Garfinkel Robin, Tu Yihsuan, Perera Frederica P.
Primary Institution: Columbia University
Hypothesis
Does prenatal exposure to air pollution, particularly PAHs, significantly increase the risk of intrauterine growth restriction and preterm delivery?
Conclusion
Prenatal PAH exposure is likely to contribute to the occurrence of small size for gestational age and preterm births among African Americans.
Supporting Evidence
- A 1 natural-log unit increase in prenatal PAH exposure was associated with a 2-fold increase in risk of symmetric intrauterine growth restriction among full-term African Americans.
- Preterm delivery risk was 5-fold greater among African Americans per ln-unit increase in prenatal PAH exposure.
- The same unit increase in exposure significantly increased the ratio of head circumference to birth weight by 0.04% in African Americans.
Takeaway
Breathing in certain air pollutants while pregnant can make babies smaller and more likely to be born early, especially for African American mothers.
Methodology
The study involved personal air monitoring of PAH exposure in a cohort of 624 mother-newborn pairs in New York City.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to reliance on self-reported data and the exclusion of high-risk pregnancies.
Limitations
The study may not account for all potential confounding factors and the sample was limited to specific ethnic groups.
Participant Demographics
Participants included young, nonsmoking, healthy African-American and Dominican mother-newborn pairs.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI, 1.1–3.5
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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