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Cited by 88Air Quality and Health ImpactsEpigenetics and DNA MethylationBirth, Development, and Health

Maternal residential proximity to major roadways, birth weight, and placental DNA methylation

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Kingsley, Samantha L., Eliot, Melissa N., Whitsel, Eric A., Huang, Yen-Tsung, Kelsey, Karl T., Marsit, Carmen J., Wellenius, Gregory A.·2016·Environment International
DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2016.03.020PMC PMC4913202
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Abstract

Background Exposure to traffic pollution during fetal development has been associated with reduced fetal growth, and there is evidence to suggest that epigenetic mechanisms in the placenta in the form of variant DNA methylation may be a potential mechanism underlying this effect. Objectives To examine the association between residential proximity to nearest major roadway, as a marker of traffic-related pollution, fetal growth and placental DNA methylation. Methods We obtained residential addresses, placenta samples, and demographic data from 471 women following delivery of term infants. Using generalized linear models we evaluated the association between living close to a major roadway (defined as living ≤150m from a primary highway or primary road or ≤50m from a secondary road) and fetal growth and DNA methylation of repetitive elements (LINE-1 and AluYb8). We evaluated epigenome-wide methylation in a subset of 215 women to further investigate specific variation in DNA methylation associated with proximity to major roadways. Results Living close to a major roadway was associated with a 175.9g (95% CI: -319.4, -32.5; p=0.016) lower birth weight, 1.8 (95% CI: 0.9, 3.8; p=0.09) times the odds of being small for gestational age, and 0.82 percentage points (95% CI: -1.57, -0.07; p=0.03) lower mean placental LINE-1 methylation levels in fully adjusted models. In epigenome-wide analyses, 7 CpG sites were significantly associated with residential proximity to major roadways. Additional adjustment for placental methylation did not attenuate the association between roadway proximity and birth weight. Conclusions Living close to major roadways was associated with both lower fetal growth and significant placental epigenetic changes. However, the observed epigenetic changes appear insufficient to explain the observed association between roadway proximity and fetal growth.

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  • Lower infant birth weight in association with maternal residence close to a major roadway was correlated with lower mean placental LINE-1 methylation.

    “Kingsley et al. [183] also reported lower infant birth weight in association with maternal residence close to a major roadway was correlated with lower mean placental LINE-1 methylation.”

    From Air pollution and children’s health—a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter (2021) · cites this paper as [183]

    The Results report that living near a major roadway was associated with both lower birth weight and lower mean placental LINE-1 methylation. But the Results also state that the association between LINE-1 methylation and birth weight did not reach statistical significance; the paper does not establish the correlation between those two outcomes implied by the claim. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Kingsley, S. L., Eliot, M. N., Whitsel, E. A., Huang, Y.-T., Kelsey, K. T., Marsit, C. J., & Wellenius, G. A.
Affiliations
  • Brown University (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • Dartmouth College (US)
Corresponding author
Wellenius, Gregory A.
ORCID
Venue
Environment International
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-07
Volume
92-93
Pages
43-49
ISSN
0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.envint.2016.03.020
PMC
PMC4913202
OpenAlex
W2330661807
Cited by
88
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 3
FWCI
5.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Environment International (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH094609)
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P01ES022832, R01ES022223, R21ES023073)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
Keywords
traffic-related air pollution, birth weight, placental DNA methylation, fetal growth, small for gestational age, LINE-1 methylation, placenta, epigenetic mechanisms, fetal development
MeSH terms
Adult, Air Pollutants, Vehicle Emissions, Birth Weight, Female, Gestational Age, Housing, Humans, Infant, Placenta, Pregnancy, Biomarkers, Linear Models, DNA Methylation, Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements, Epigenesis, Genetic

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