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Maternal exposure to particulate air pollution and term birth weight : a multi-country evaluation of effect and heterogeneity Dadvand, Payam; Parker, Jennifer; Bell, Michelle L.; Bonzini, Matteo; Brauer, Michael (Of University of British Columbia); Darrow, Lyndsey A.; Gehring, Ulrike; Glinianaia, Svetlana V.; Gouveia, Nelson; Ha, Eun-hee; Leem, Jong Han; van den Hooven, Edith H.; Jalaludin, Bin; Jesdale, Bill M.; Lepeule, Johanna; Morello‑Frosch, Rachel; Morgan, Geoffrey G.; Pesatori, Angela Cecilia; Pierik, Frank H.; Pless‑Mulloli, Tanja; Rich, David Q.; Sathyanarayana, Sheela; Seo, Juhee; Slama, Rémy; Strickland, Matthew; Tamburic, Lillian; Wartenberg, Daniel; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.; Woodruff, Tracey J.

Abstract

Background: A growing body of evidence has associated maternal exposure to air pollution with adverse effects on fetal growth; however, the existing literature is inconsistent. Objectives: We aimed to quantify the association between maternal exposure to particulate air pollution and term birth weight and low birth weight (LBW) across 14 centers from 9 countries, and to explore the influence of site characteristics and exposure assessment methods on between-center heterogeneity in this association. Methods: Using a common analytical protocol, International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO) centers generated effect estimates for term LBW and continuous birth weight associated with PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ (particulate matter ≤ 10 and 2.5 μm). We used meta-analysis to combine the estimates of effect across centers (~ 3 million births) and used meta-regression to evaluate the influence of center characteristics and exposure assessment methods on between-center heterogeneity in reported effect estimates. Results: In random-effects meta-analyses, term LBW was positively associated with a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM₁₀ [odds ratio (OR) = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05] and PM₂.₅ (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.18) exposure during the entire pregnancy, adjusted for maternal socioeconomic status. A 10-μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ exposure was also negatively associated with term birth weight as a continuous outcome in the fully adjusted random-effects meta-analyses (–8.9 g; 95% CI: –13.2, –4.6 g). Meta-regressions revealed that centers with higher median PM₂.₅ levels and PM₂.₅:PM₁₀ ratios, and centers that used a temporal exposure assessment (compared with spatiotemporal), tended to report stronger associations. Conclusion: Maternal exposure to particulate pollution was associated with LBW at term across study populations. We detected three site characteristics and aspects of exposure assessment methodology that appeared to contribute to the variation in associations reported by centers.

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Title
Maternal exposure to particulate air pollution and term birth weight : a multi-country evaluation of effect and heterogeneity
Creator
Dadvand, Payam; Parker, Jennifer; Bell, Michelle L.; Bonzini, Matteo; Brauer, Michael (Of University of British Columbia); Darrow, Lyndsey A.; Gehring, Ulrike; Glinianaia, Svetlana V.; Gouveia, Nelson; Ha, Eun-hee; Leem, Jong Han; van den Hooven, Edith H.; Jalaludin, Bin; Jesdale, Bill M.; Lepeule, Johanna; Morello‑Frosch, Rachel; Morgan, Geoffrey G.; Pesatori, Angela Cecilia; Pierik, Frank H.; Pless‑Mulloli, Tanja; Rich, David Q.; Sathyanarayana, Sheela; Seo, Juhee; Slama, Rémy; Strickland, Matthew; Tamburic, Lillian; Wartenberg, Daniel; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.; Woodruff, Tracey J.
Contributor
University of British Columbia. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Date Issued
2013-03
Description
Background: A growing body of evidence has associated maternal exposure to air pollution with adverse effects on fetal growth; however, the existing literature is inconsistent. Objectives: We aimed to quantify the association between maternal exposure to particulate air pollution and term birth weight and low birth weight (LBW) across 14 centers from 9 countries, and to explore the influence of site characteristics and exposure assessment methods on between-center heterogeneity in this association. Methods: Using a common analytical protocol, International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO) centers generated effect estimates for term LBW and continuous birth weight associated with PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ (particulate matter ≤ 10 and 2.5 μm). We used meta-analysis to combine the estimates of effect across centers (~ 3 million births) and used meta-regression to evaluate the influence of center characteristics and exposure assessment methods on between-center heterogeneity in reported effect estimates. Results: In random-effects meta-analyses, term LBW was positively associated with a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM₁₀ [odds ratio (OR) = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05] and PM₂.₅ (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.18) exposure during the entire pregnancy, adjusted for maternal socioeconomic status. A 10-μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ exposure was also negatively associated with term birth weight as a continuous outcome in the fully adjusted random-effects meta-analyses (–8.9 g; 95% CI: –13.2, –4.6 g). Meta-regressions revealed that centers with higher median PM₂.₅ levels and PM₂.₅:PM₁₀ ratios, and centers that used a temporal exposure assessment (compared with spatiotemporal), tended to report stronger associations. Conclusion: Maternal exposure to particulate pollution was associated with LBW at term across study populations. We detected three site characteristics and aspects of exposure assessment methodology that appeared to contribute to the variation in associations reported by centers.
Subject
Air pollution; Fetal growth; Heterogeneity; ICAPPO; Low birth weight; Meta-analysis; Meta-regression; Multi-center study; Particulate matter; Pregnancy
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2015-10-24
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
DOI
10.14288/1.0074701
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/54820
Affiliation
Non UBC; Medicine, Faculty of; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of
Citation
Dadvand P, Parker J, Bell ML, Bonzini M, Brauer M, Darrow LA, Gehring U, Glinianaia SV, Gouveia N, Ha EH, Leem JH, van den Hooven EH, Jalaludin B, Jesdale BM, Lepeule J, Morello-Frosch R, Morgan GG, Pesatori AC, Pierik FH, Pless-Mulloli T, Rich DQ, Sathyanarayana S, Seo J, Slama R, Strickland M, Tamburic L, Wartenberg D, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Woodruff TJ. Environ Health Perspect. 2013 Mar;121(3):267-373.
Publisher DOI
10.1289/ehp.1205575
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Environmental Health Perspectives
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada