Long term effects of prenatal and postnatal airborne PAH exposures on ventilatory lung function of non-asthmatic preadolescent children. Prospective birth cohort study in Krakow

Abstract

The main goal of the study was to test the hypothesis that prenatal and postnatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is associated with depressed lung function in non-asthmatic children. The study sample comprises 195 non-asthmatic children of non-smoking mothers, among whom the prenatal PAH exposure was assessed by personal air monitoring in pregnancy. At the age of 3, residential air monitoring was carried out to evaluate the residential PAH exposure indoors and outdoors. At the age of 5 to 8, children were given allergic skin tests for indoor allergens; and between 5–9 years lung function testing (FVC, FEV05, FEV1 and FEF25–75) was performed. The effects of prenatal PAH exposure on lung function tests repeated over the follow-up were adjusted in the General Estimated Equation (GEE) model for the relevant covariates. No association between FVC with prenatal PAH exposure was found; however for the FEV1 deficit associated with higher prenatal PAH exposure (above 37ng/m3) amounted to 53 mL (p = 0.050) and the deficit of FEF25–75 reached 164 mL (p=0.013). The corresponding deficits related to postnatal residential indoor PAH level (above 42 ng/m3) were 59 mL of FEV1 (p=0.028) and 140 mL of FEF25–75 (p=0.031). At the higher residential outdoor PAH level (above 90 ng/m3) slightly greater deficit of FEV1 (71mL, p = 0.009) was observed. The results of the study suggest that transplacental exposure to PAH compromises the normal developmental process of respiratory airways and that this effect is compounded by postnatal PAH exposure.

The health burden of pollution: the impact of prenatal exposure to air pollutants

“…Jedrychowski et al evaluated 195 children without asthma of non-smoking mothers. The highest levels of PAHs during pregnancy were associated with a reduced FEV 1 and a reduced FEV 25–75 40. The same authors have reported that the number of wheezing days during the first 2 years of life was positively associated with the prenatal level of PAH-adducts (incidence rate ratio [IRR] =1.69; 95% CI: 1.52–2.88) 41.…”

Household air pollution and its effects on health

“…In fact, height charts of these children have been found to be in the lower percentiles. The effect of perinatal exposure to PAHs has also been studied, revealing compromised lung function in otherwise-healthy children 37 . Various studies have shown that indoor air pollution is associated with a 38% increased risk of low birth weight and an alarming 51% increased risk of stillbirths 38 .…”

Environmental Pollution and the Developing Lung

“…Retention of a subject cohort to study over several years is difficult, and results may be confounded, particularly if families move to a region with different exposures. 79 However, despite the methodologic problems, there is strong evidence from at least 9 selected and well-controlled longitudinal studies (reviewed in Table 2, [71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79], that children exposed to greater concentrations of complex air pollutants are at risk for not achieving their optimal lung development by the time they attain adulthood.…”