Background: Air pollution has been linked to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) but no studies have evaluated impact of preconception and early pregnancy air pollution exposures on GDM risk. Methods: Electronic medical records provided data on 219,952 singleton deliveries to mothers with (n=11,334) and without GDM (n=208,618). Average maternal exposures to particulate matter (PM) <2.5 microns (PM2.5) and PM2.5 constituents, PM <10 microns (PM10), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) were estimated for the 3-month preconception window, first trimester, and gestational weeks 1-24 based on modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models for delivery hospital referral regions. Binary regression models with robust standard errors estimated relative risks (RR) for GDM per interquartile range (IQR) increase in pollutant concentrations adjusted for study site, maternal age and race/ethnicity. Results: Preconception maternal exposure to NOX (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.13) and SO2 (RR=1.05, 1.01, 1.09) were associated with increased risk of subsequent GDM and risk estimates remained elevated for first trimester exposure. Preconception O3 was associated with lower risk of subsequent GDM (RR=0.93, 0.90, 0.96) but risks increased later in pregnancy. Conclusion: Maternal exposures to NOX and SO2 preconception and during the first few weeks of pregnancy were associated with increased GDM risk. O3 appeared to increase GDM risk in association with mid-pregnancy exposure but not in earlier time windows. These common exposures merit further investigation.

Background: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are developmental toxicants, but the impact of both maternal and paternal exposures on offspring birth size is largely unexplored.Objective: We examined associations between maternal and paternal serum concentrations of 63 POPs, comprising five major classes of pollutants, with birth size measures.Methods: Parental serum concentrations of 9 organochlorine pesticides, 1 polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), 7 perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), 10 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 36 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured before conception for 234 couples. Differences in birth weight, length, head circumference, and ponderal index were estimated using multiple linear regression per 1-SD increase in natural log-transformed (ln-transformed) chemicals. Models were estimated separately for each parent and adjusted for maternal age, maternal prepregnancy body mass index (kilograms per meter squared) and other confounders, and all models included an interaction term between infant sex and each chemical.Results: Among girls (n = 117), birth weight was significantly lower (range, 84–195 g) in association with a 1-SD increase in ln-transformed maternal serum concentrations of DDT, PBDE congeners 28 and 183, and paternal serum concentrations of PBDE-183 and PCB-167. Among boys (n = 113), maternal (PCBs 138, 153, 167, 170, 195, and 209 and perfluorooctane sulfonamide) and paternal (PCBs 172 and 195) serum concentrations of several POPs were statistically associated with lower birth weight (range, 98–170 g), whereas paternal concentrations of PBDEs (66, 99) were associated with higher birth weight. Differences in offspring head circumference, length, and ponderal index were also associated with parental exposures.Conclusions: Preconceptional maternal and paternal concentrations of several POPs were associated with statistically significant differences in birth size among offspring.Citation: Robledo CA, Yeung E, Mendola P, Sundaram R, Maisog J, Sweeney AM, Barr DB, Buck Louis GM. 2015. Preconception maternal and paternal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and birth size: the LIFE Study. Environ Health Perspect 123:88–94; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1308016

Recent epidemiological studies indicate bisphenol-A (BPA), an estrogenic chemical used in production of epoxy, polycarbonate and plastic may increase risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Exposure to BPA during pregnancy may contribute to development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a precursor to type 2 diabetes in women. This pilot study examined the association between BPA exposure, fasting blood glucose levels (FBG) and GDM diagnosis during pregnancy. Banked urine samples from 22 cases of GDM and 72 controls were analyzed for total (free BPA + conjugates) urinary BPA concentrations (μg/L). FBG levels (mg/dl) were obtained from 1 h 50 g glucose tolerance tests (GTT) that women underwent for routine GDM screening (mean gestational age=26.6 weeks sd=3.8). Those with an initial screening value ≥135 mg/dl underwent 3-hr 100 g oral GTT. GDM diagnoses were made when the initial screening value was ≥ 200 mg/dl or when values at ≥ 2 time points exceeded 3-hr oral GTT thresholds. Among controls, median FBG levels (mg/dL) did not differ across exposure tertiles, defined according to the distribution of total specific-gravity adjusted urinary BPA concentrations. Logistic regression models controlling for race/ethnicity did not provide evidence of association between BPA exposure and case status across increasing tertiles of BPA exposure (number of GDM cases/controls in tertile 1: 13/24, tertile 2: 6/24 tertile 3: 3/24).. Findings do not support a relationship between total urinary BPA concentrations and altered glucose metabolism during pregnancy. However, due to study limitations findings need to be interpreted with caution.

Maternal asthma and air pollutants have been independently associated with preeclampsia but rarely studied together. Our objective was to comprehensively evaluate preeclampsia risk based on the interaction of maternal asthma and air pollutants. Preeclampsia and asthma diagnoses, demographic and clinical data came from electronic medical records for 210,508 singleton deliveries. Modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models estimated preconception, first and second trimester and whole pregnancy exposure to: particulate matter (PM) < 2.5 and < 10 µm, ozone, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO); PM2.5 constituents; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Asthma-pollutant interaction adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for preeclampsia were calculated by interquartile range for criteria pollutants and high exposure (≥ 75th percentile) for PAHs and VOCs. Asthmatics had higher risk associated with first trimester NOx and SO2 and whole pregnancy elemental carbon (EC) exposure than non-asthmatics, but only EC significantly increased risk (RR=1.11, CI:1.03–1.21). Asthmatics also had a 10% increased risk associated with second trimester CO. Significant interactions were observed for nearly all VOCs and asthmatics had higher risk during all time windows for benzene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, o-xylene, p-xylene and toluene while most PAHs did not increase risk.

Although cardiovascular disease has traditionally been viewed as a condition of aging individuals, increasing focus has turned to its developmental origins. Since birthweight has been related to cardiovascular disease risk, research into factors such as gravid conditions that affect fetal growth have grown. Associations between maternal diabetes and childhood obesity from sibling studies suggest a causal role but prospective studies of gestational diabetes remain mixed. Preeclampsia and increased offspring blood pressure has been consistently observed but evidence for other cardiovascular outcomes is lacking. While maternal obesity is associated with childhood obesity, causality remains unclear and paternal obesity should be investigated as an independent risk factor. Environmental chemical exposures in utero, particularly obesogens, are now emerging as another concern, as is conception by infertility treatment. Few studies have investigated subclinical measures of endothelial function or atherosclerosis and more research in these areas may help reveal the underlying pathogenesis.

Background Ambient air pollutants may increase preterm birth (PTB) risk but critical exposure windows are uncertain. The interaction of asthma and pollutant exposure is rarely studied. Objective To assess the interaction of maternal asthma and air pollutant exposures in relation to PTB risk. Methods Electronic medical records for 223,502 U.S. deliveries were linked with modified Community Multiscale Air Quality model outputs. Logistic regression with generalized estimating equations estimated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for PTB based on the interaction of maternal asthma and particulate matter <2.5 microns (PM2.5) and <10 microns (PM10), ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) per interquartile range. For each gestational week 23–36, exposures among women who delivered were compared to those remaining pregnant. Three-months preconception, whole pregnancy, weeks 1–28 and the last six weeks of gestation averages were also evaluated. Results Assessing PTB by gestational week, significant asthma interactions were sporadic before 30 weeks but more common during weeks 34–36 with higher risk among asthmatic mothers for NOx, CO and SO2 exposure and an inverse association with O3 in week 34. Odds of PTB were significantly higher among asthmatics for CO and NOx preconception and early in pregnancy. In the last six weeks of pregnancy, PM10 risk for PTB was higher among asthmatics. Conclusion Asthmatic mothers may experience higher risk for PTB after exposure to traffic-related pollutants such as CO and NOx particularly for exposures three-months preconception and in the early weeks of pregnancy.

Objectives : To report survey results from American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association members on the practice patterns of airway obstruction management in patients with Pierre Robin sequence. Design : A 10-question online survey was sent and the data were reviewed. Setting : Online survey of members of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. Patients : Surveys assessed management patterns of patients with Pierre Robin sequence whom a surgeon member of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association treated for airway obstruction. Interventions : The survey comprised data on management strategies for airway obstruction in Pierre Robin sequence, including tracheostomy, tongue-lip adhesion, mandibular distraction, and treatments that falls in the "other" category. Results : A total of 87 American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association members completed the survey. Respondents' results were analyzed as a whole and by individual subspecialty: plastic surgery (n = 33), oromaxillofacial surgery (n = 21), and otolaryngology (n = 29). Although most of the surgeons were trained to manage airway obstruction in Pierre Robin sequence patients using tracheostomy (47%, n = 39) and tongue-lip adhesion (31%, n = 26), 48% reported a current preference for mandibular distraction (n = 40). Of surgeons who preferred to manage Pierre Robin sequence with tongue-lip adhesion (n = 23), 65% were trained to do so (n = 15). Surgeons preferring mandibular distraction (n = 40) and tracheostomy (n = 14) more often reported they were trained to manage Pierre Robin sequence with tracheostomy. Conclusions : Currently there are various practice patterns for the management of airway obstruction in Pierre Robin sequence. Training habits and subspecialty category may influence a surgeon's preference in patients who fail conservative therapy. Treatment guidelines are lacking and may require significant collaboration among centers and subspecialties to develop a more standardized approach to a challenging clinical entity.

Standard clinical findings may be useful as indicators for success or failure of medical management of early pregnancy failure in settings with limited or no access to ultrasonography. More research to identify even better indicators is warranted.