Early prenatal exposure to air pollution and its associations with birth defects in a state‐wide birth cohort from North Carolina

Abstract

Overall, this study suggested a possible relationship between air pollution concentration during early pregnancy and certain birth defects (e.g., microtia/anotia, lower limb deficiency defects), although this study did not have the power to detect such an association. The risk for most birth defects does not appear to be affected by ambient air pollution.

Associations between exposure to ambient benzene and PM2.5 during pregnancy and the risk of selected birth defects in offspring

“…Several studies have examined the association between maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and congenital heart defects, orofacial clefts, and spina bifida (Agay-Shay et al, 2013; Dadvand et al, 2011aDadvand et al, , 2011bDolk et al, 2010;Gilboa et al, 2005;Hansen et al, 2009;Hwang and Jaakkola, 2008;Lupo et al, 2011;Marshall et al, 2010;Padula et al, 2013a;Padula et al, 2013bPadula et al, , 2013cRamakrishnan et al, 2013;Rankin et al, 2009;Ritz et al, 2002;Schembari et al, 2014;Stingone et al, 2014;Strickland et al, 2009;Vinikoor-Imler et al, 2013). However, benzene and (until recently) PM 2.5 have been understudied pollutants in fetal development.…”

“…A study in the Tel-Aviv region of Israel examining the association between congenital heart defects and six common air pollutants observed a negative association between isolated patent ductus arteriosus and exposure to PM 2.5 and a positive association between multiple congenital heart defects and exposure to PM 10 (Agay-Shay et al, 2013). Vinikoor-Imler et al investigated the risk of a number of CCHDs, orofacial clefts, and spina bifida, and exposure to PM 2.5 and ozone (Vinikoor-Imler et al, 2013). Among all congenital heart defects studied, PM 2.5 exposure was only associated with a reduced risk of atrial septal defect.…”

“…Exposure has been reported to impact fetal growth (Le et al, 2012;Rich et al, 2009), birth weight (Morello-Frosch et al, 2010;Wilhelm et al, 2012), preterm birth (Chang et al, 2012;Rudra et al, 2011), as well as pregnancy conditions such as preeclampsia Wu et al, 2009;Wu et al, 2011). Several studies have also examined the association between exposure to air pollution and select birth defects (Dadvand et al, 2011a(Dadvand et al, , 2011bDolk et al, 2010;Gilboa et al, 2005;Hansen et al, 2009;Hwang and Jaakkola, 2008;Rankin et al, 2009;Ritz et al, 2002;Stingone et al, 2014;Strickland et al, 2009); however, only until recently have studies included PM 2.5 and benzene as pollutants of interest (Agay-Shay et al, 2013;Lupo et al, 2011;Marshall et al, 2010;Padula et al, 2013aPadula et al, , 2013bPadula et al, , 2013cRamakrishnan et al, 2013;Schembari et al, 2014;Vinikoor-Imler et al, 2013).…”

Association of Low-Level Ozone with Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

“…Combined with ground-level monitoring, the “space-time fusion” model increased spatial and temporal resolution of air quality compared to using monitors alone, and thus allowed us to study a geographically dispersed population. The HBM has recently been successfully used to study associations with birth defects and low birth weight outcomes [8, 9]. We utilized the model to conduct a retrospective analysis of whether or not air pollution influences cognitive performance among participants of the national Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC) program.…”

Promises and Challenges of Big Data Computing in Health Sciences

“…Air pollution would cause several health problems, such as, lung cancer [28], cardiovascular disease [29] and birth defects [30][31][32]. Now, air pollution is a significant issue in many developing countries.…”