Higher Fish Consumption in Pregnancy May Confer Protection against the Harmful Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter

Abstract

Background/Aim: The objective of this study was to assess a hypothesized beneficial effect of fish consumption during the last trimester of pregnancy on adverse birth outcomes resulting from prenatal exposure to fine air particulate matter. Methods: The cohort consisted of 481 nonsmoking women with singleton pregnancies, of 18–35 years of age, who gave birth at term. All recruited women were asked about their usual diet over the period of pregnancy. Measurements of particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in size (PM_2.5) were carried out by personal air monitoring over 48 h during the second trimester of pregnancy. The effect of PM_2.5 and fish intake during gestation on the birth weight of the babies was estimated from multivariable linear regression models, which beside the main independent variables considered a set of potential confounding factors such as the size of the mother (height, prepregnancy weight), maternal education, parity, the gender of the child, gestational age and the season of birth. Results: The study showed that the adjusted birth weight was significantly lower in newborns whose mothers were exposed to particulate matter greater than 46.3 µg/m³ (β coefficient = –97.02, p = 0.032). Regression analysis stratified by the level of maternal fish consumption (in tertiles) showed that the deficit in birth weight amounted to 133.26 g (p = 0.052) in newborns whose mothers reported low fish intake (<91 g/week). The birth weight deficit in newborns whose mothers reported medium (91–205 g/week) or higher fish intake (>205 g/week) was insignificant. The interaction term between PM_2.5 and fish intake levels was also insignificant (β = –107,35, p = 0.215). Neither gestational age nor birth weight correlated with maternal fish consumption. Conclusions: The results suggest that a higher consumption of fish by women during pregnancy may reduce the risk of adverse effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants and highlight the fact that a full assessment of adverse birth outcomes resulting from prenatal exposure to ambient hazards should consider maternal nutrition during pregnancy.

Maternal Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide, Intake of Methyl Nutrients, and Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring

“…The majority of nutrient-pollutant-CHD combinations did not provide evidence of interaction, likely due to the lack of an overall association with greater NO 2 exposure. In conjunction with the broader literature observing interactions between diet and TRAP in different populations (27, 28), these findings provide support for additional research investigating interactions between nutrient intake and environmental exposures during pregnancy.…”

“…Studies demonstrate that other aspects of the maternal diet may modify associations between air pollution, adverse birth outcomes, and neurodevelopment (27, 28). Additionally, research has found that intake of dietary methyl nutrients can modify the association between air pollutant exposure and cardiac outcomes in older adult populations (29).…”

Respiratory risks from household air pollution in low and middle income countries

“…Although there is no direct evidence that nutritional factors modify the effects of HAP on risk of respiratory tract infection, several studies raise the possibility that good nutrition could mitigate the harmful proinflammatory effects of HAP 95. Pregnant women exposed to PM 2·5 who consumed higher amounts of fish had a lower risk of having a low birthweight baby,96 and in mice models investigating the combined effects of malnutrition and air pollution, zinc and vitamin E supplementation mitigated the harmful effects of air pollution 97,98. Conversely, an in-vitro study showed that high fructose and LDL increased the oxidative damage caused by ultrafine carbon particles 99.…”

Modeling spatial effects of PM2.5 on term low birth weight in Los Angeles County

“…age of housing stock, substandard housing, or lack of air conditioning) that could potentially exacerbate gradients in intra-urban exposures; even between neighborhoods with similar ambient PM concentrations (Baxter et al, 2007;Burgos et al, 2013;Clougherty et al, 2011;Lv and Zhu, 2013;Meng et al, 2005;Ramachandran et al, 2003;Reid et al, 2009). Additionally, PM-related birth outcome risks may be modified by individual-level or neighborhood-level susceptibility factors that are often spatially patterned, such as SES, racial-ethnic status, maternal body mass index, maternal nutrition status, and other adverse neighborhood conditions, e.g., poor access to healthy foods or green spaces (English et al, 2003;Hystad et al, 2014;Jedrychowski et al, 2010;Kannan et al, 2006;Lakshmanan et al, 2015;Lane et al, 2008;Laurent et al, 2014;Ponce, 2005;Schempf et al, 2009).…”