Associations Between Residential Proximity to Power Plants and Adverse Birth Outcomes

Ha, Sandie; Hu, Hui; Roth, Jeffrey; Kan, Haidong; Xu, Xiaohui

doi:10.1093/aje/kwv042

Cited by 39 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Many prior preterm birth studies have focused on trafficrelated air pollution or nonspecific particulate matter exposures (21,22,(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56), although some have evaluated sourcespecific emissions (11,22,54). Four studies estimated the relationship between living near power plants and adverse birth outcomes (5)(6)(7)(8). Among 400,000 births in Florida, Ha et al (6) reported a 2.2% increase in odds of preterm delivery for each 5 km closer to any power plant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coal electricity accounted for 51% of US electricity generation in 2001 and 42% in 2011, with more plant retirements likely in the future (2). Residential proximity to active oil and coal power plants may harm health (1,3,4), particularly of pregnant women and developing fetuses (5)(6)(7)(8). Therefore, power plant retirements may improve birth outcomes, including the proportion of preterm birth.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Retirements of Coal and Oil Power Plants in California: Association With Reduced Preterm Birth Among Populations Nearby

Casey

Karasek

Ogburn

et al. 2018

American Journal of Epidemiology

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Coal and oil power plant retirements reduce air pollution nearby, but few studies have leveraged these natural experiments for public health research. We used California Department of Public Health birth records and Energy Information Administration data from 2001-2011 to evaluate the relationship between 8 coal and oil power plant retirements and nearby preterm births ( < 37 weeks gestational age). We conducted a difference-in-differences analysis using adjusted linear mixed models that included 57,005 births-6.5% of which were preterm-to compare the probability of preterm birth before and after power plant retirement among mothers residing within 0-5 km and 5-10 km of the 8 power plants. We found that power plant retirements were associated with a decrease in the proportion of preterm birth within 5 km (-0.019, 95% CI: -0.031, -0.008) and 5-10 km (-0.015, 95% CI: -0.024, -0.007) controlling for secular trends with mothers living 10-20 km away. For the 0-5 km area, this corresponds to a reduction in preterm birth from 7.0% to 5.1%. Subgroup analyses indicated a potentially larger association among non-Hispanic Black and Asian mothers compared to non-Hispanic White and Hispanic mothers and no differences in educational attainment. Future coal and oil power plant retirements may reduce preterm birth among nearby populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Retirements of Coal and Oil Power Plants in California: Association With Reduced Preterm Birth Among Populations Nearby

Casey

Karasek

Ogburn

et al. 2018

American Journal of Epidemiology

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“…Prior literature has assessed the association between power plant proximity and birth outcomes [ 5 , 6 , 36 , 37 ]. We extended this literature, finding an association between power plant retirements and increased fertility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Residential proximity to power plants has been linked to health outcomes such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease [ 4 ] and adverse birth outcomes [ 5 , 6 ]. Coal and oil plants, especially older and less efficient ones, typically emit more pollution than those run on natural gas [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increase in fertility following coal and oil power plant retirements in California

et al. 2018

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BackgroundFew studies have explored the relationship between air pollution and fertility. We used a natural experiment in California when coal and oil power plants retired to estimate associations with nearby fertility rates.MethodsWe used a difference-in-differences negative binomial model on the incident rate ratio scale to analyze the change in annual fertility rates among California mothers living within 0-5 km and 5-10 km of 8 retired power plants between 2001 and 2011. The difference-in-differences method isolates the portion of the pre- versus post-retirement contrast in the 0-5 km and 5-10 km bins, respectively, that is due to retirement rather than secular trends. We controlled for secular trends with mothers living 10-20 km away. Adjusted models included fixed effects for power plant, proportion Hispanic, Black, high school educated, and aged > 30 years mothers, and neighborhood poverty and educational attainment.ResultsAnalyses included 58,909 live births. In adjusted models, we estimated that after power plant retirement annual fertility rates per 1000 women aged 15–44 years increased by 8 births within 5 km and 2 births within 5-10 km of power plants, corresponding to incident rate ratios of 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1–1.4) and 1.1 (95% CI: 1.0–1.2), respectively. We implemented a negative exposure control by randomly selecting power plants that did not retire and repeating our analysis with those locations using the retirement dates from original 8 power plants. There was no association, suggesting that statewide temporal trends may not account for results.ConclusionsFertility rates among nearby populations appeared to increase after coal and oil power plant retirements. Our study design limited the possibility that our findings resulted from temporal trends or changes in population composition. These results require confirmation in other populations, given known methodological limitations of ecologic study designs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-018-0388-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Finally, an important evolution in this research is to examine sources and components of fractionated PM 2.5 . One study identified power plants as important sources of PM 2.5 exposure, and illustrated that proximity to these plants specifically was associated with increased risk of preterm delivery (138). Additionally, two studies examining compounds present in PM 2.5 fractions suggested that elemental carbon and SO 4 specifically were associated with increased risk of PTB (111, 119).…”

Section: Environmental Chemicals and Ptbmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Chemicals and Preterm Birth: Biological Mechanisms and the State of the Science

2017

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Purpose of review Preterm birth is a significant worldwide health problem of uncertain origins. The extant body of literature examining environmental contaminant exposures in relation to preterm birth is extensive but results remain ambiguous for most organic pollutants, metals and metalloids, and air pollutants. In the present review we examine recent epidemiologic studies investigating these associations, and identify recent advances and the state of the science. Additionally, we highlight biological mechanisms of action in the pathway between chemical exposures and preterm birth, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and endocrine disruption, that deserve more attention in this context. Recent findings Important advances have been made in the study of the environment and preterm birth, particularly in regard to exposure assessment methods, exploration of effect modification by co-morbidities and exposures, and in identification of windows of vulnerability during gestation. There is strong evidence for an association between maternal exposure to some persistent pesticides, lead, and fine particulate matter, but data on other contaminants is sparse and only suggestive trends can be noted with the current data. Summary Beyond replicating current findings, further work must be done to improve understanding of mechanisms underlying the associations observed between environmental chemical exposures and preterm birth. By examining windows of vulnerability, disaggregating preterm birth by phenotypes, and measuring biomarkers of mechanistic pathways in these epidemiologic studies we can improve our ability to detect associations with exposure, provide additional evidence for causality in an observational setting, and identify opportunities for intervention.

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Associations Between Residential Proximity to Power Plants and Adverse Birth Outcomes

Cited by 39 publications

References 35 publications

Retirements of Coal and Oil Power Plants in California: Association With Reduced Preterm Birth Among Populations Nearby

Retirements of Coal and Oil Power Plants in California: Association With Reduced Preterm Birth Among Populations Nearby

Increase in fertility following coal and oil power plant retirements in California

Environmental Chemicals and Preterm Birth: Biological Mechanisms and the State of the Science

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