Exposure to air pollution and risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of epidemiological evidence on the association between air pollution exposure and HDP in pregnant women in small and medium-sized cities, and the air pollution situation in small and medium-sized cities cannot be ignored and the health of their inhabitants deserves to be considered. Objective: To explore pollutants affecting the risk of HDP in small and medium-sized cities and to explore differences in the effects of air pollution on GH and PE. Methods: A total of 9,820 women who delivered at Handan Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Hebei Province from February 2018 to July 2020 were included in the study. The effects of air pollution exposure on the risk of HDP during preconception and pregnancy were assessed using logistic regression models and principal component logistic regression models. Results: In multi-pollutant models adjusted for covariates, each 20 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and PM10 and each 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2 during the Pre_T period was associated with a 2.4% (OR=1.024, 95% CI: 1.010-1.039), 2.5% (OR=1.025, 95% CI: 1.012-1.037), and 2.0% (OR=1.020, 95% CI: 1.005-1.037) increase in the risk of HDP, respectively. PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 exposure during the Pre_T period also increased the risk of GH and PE in pregnant women, and the risk of each pollutant to GH was lower than that of PE. In addition, O3 exposure per 20 μg/m3 increment during the T period increased the risk of GH with an OR of 1.026 (95% CI: 1.002 to 1.050). Conclusions: PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and O3 exposure had a significant effect on the increased risk of developing HDP in pregnant women, and the effects of pollutants on the risk of GH were different from those on PE.