Air Pollution Exposure Monitoring among Pregnant Women with and without Asthma

Abstract

<jats:p>Background: We monitored exposure to fine particulates (PM2.5), ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ambient temperature for pregnant women with and without asthma. Methods: Women (n = 40) from the Breathe—Well-Being, Environment, Lifestyle, and Lung Function Study (2015–2018) were enrolled during pregnancy and monitored for 2–4 days. Daily pollutants were measured using personal air monitors, indoor air monitors, and nearest Environmental Protection Agency’s stationary monitors based on GPS tracking and home address. Results: Personal-monitor measurements of PM2.5, ozone, and NO2 did not vary by asthma status but exposure profiles significantly differed by assessment methods. EPA stationary monitor-based methods appeared to underestimate PM2.5 and temperature exposure and overestimate ozone and NO2 exposure. Higher indoor-monitored PM2.5 exposures were associated with smoking and the use of gas appliances. The proportion of waking-time during which personal monitors were worn was ~56%. Lower compliance was associated with exercise, smoking, being around a smoker, and the use of a prescription drug. Conclusions: Exposure did not vary by asthma status but was influenced by daily activities and assessment methods. Personal monitors may better capture exposures but non-compliance merits attention. Meanwhile, larger monitoring studies are warranted to further understand exposure profiles and the health effects of air pollution during pregnancy.</jats:p>

Pregnant Women’s Exposure to Household Air Pollution in Rural Bangladesh: A Feasibility Study for Poriborton: The CHANge Trial

“…A similar Sri Lankan study that used the MicroPEM yielded a wearing compliance of 87.2% for the first 24 h of data collection [ 58 ]. Likewise, a personal PM exposure study of pregnant women conducted in the USA reports a mean compliance of 56%, which supports the minimal burden of MicroPEM devices [ 59 ]. Higher validity of data can be assumed from these MicroPEM measurements since periods of non-compliance in these studies most often occurred during non-cooking times.…”

Wildfire Smoke Exposure during Pregnancy: A Review of Potential Mechanisms of Placental Toxicity, Impact on Obstetric Outcomes, and Strategies to Reduce Exposure

“…Another potential strategy to reduce smoke exposure is to leverage personal monitoring devices and modifying individual behavior based on real-time exposures. Wearable device air quality monitoring provides highly accurate air pollution exposure measurements, since people are mobile throughout the day; however, this method can be tiring and costly, resulting in high rates of noncompliance [ 165 ]. Most people, including specifically pregnant women, spend the majority of their time indoors and their indoor pollution estimates were found to be similar to wearable monitor measurements, making indoor air quality monitoring a practical and effective alternative to wearable device monitoring for both research purposes and individual knowledge of exposure [ 165 , 166 , 167 ].…”

“…Wearable device air quality monitoring provides highly accurate air pollution exposure measurements, since people are mobile throughout the day; however, this method can be tiring and costly, resulting in high rates of noncompliance [ 165 ]. Most people, including specifically pregnant women, spend the majority of their time indoors and their indoor pollution estimates were found to be similar to wearable monitor measurements, making indoor air quality monitoring a practical and effective alternative to wearable device monitoring for both research purposes and individual knowledge of exposure [ 165 , 166 , 167 ]. Increasing weeks of pregnancy is a significant predictor for increased time spent at home (1 h/day increase for each trimester of pregnancy), after adjusting for income (2.6 more h/day at home in lowest income group), work status (3.5 more h/day at home for nonworkers) and other children in the family (1.5 more h/day at home with other children) [ 166 ].…”

Outdoor Air Pollution and Pregnancy Loss: a Review of Recent Literature

“…Furthermore, many studies do not have residential addresses and had to rely on large geographic unit such as US zip code for estimation. Even for those that do have residential address, it is known that pregnant women are mobile across pregnancy [48]. Thus, while residential history or time activity patterns are valuable for accurate estimation, these data points are not available, leading to potential non-differential misclassification, which would bias results towards the null.…”

“…As wearable technologies become more accessible, they can be used for personal monitoring and/or supplementing existing exposure assessment strategies. To date, although no studies on pregnancy loss utilize personal monitoring, studies on other health outcomes have successfully implemented this approach [48,[50][51][52][53][54]. Given pregnancy is a relatively short window of opportunity, this approach is potentially feasible and allows prospective capturing of small variation in timing, pattern, and duration of exposures, which can help explore specific windows of susceptibility.…”