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Cited by 106Air Quality and Health ImpactsEnvironmental Justice and Health DisparitiesMaternal and Neonatal Healthcare

Exposure to airborne particulate matter during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth: a population-based cohort study

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DeFranco, Emily, Moravec, William, Xu, Fan, Hall, Eric, Hossain, Monir, Haynes, Erin N., Muglia, Louis, Chen, Aimin·2016·Environmental Health
DOI 10.1186/s12940-016-0094-3PMC PMC4714531
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Test the hypothesis that exposure to fine particulate matter in the air (PM2.5) is associated with increased risk of preterm birth (PTB). METHODS: Geo-spatial population-based cohort study using live birth records from Ohio (2007-2010) linked to average daily measures of PM2.5, recorded by 57 EPA network monitoring stations across the state. Geographic coordinates of the home residence for births were linked to the nearest monitoring station using ArcGIS. Association between PTB and high PM2.5 levels (above the EPA annual standard of 15 μg/m(3)) was estimated using GEE, with adjustment for age, race, education, parity, insurance, tobacco, birth season and year, and infant gender. An exchangeable correlation matrix for the monitor stations was used in the models. Analyses were limited to non-anomalous singleton births at 20-42weeks with no known chromosome abnormality occurring within 10 km of a monitor station. RESULTS: The frequency of PTB was 8.5 % in the study cohort of 224,921 singleton live births. High PM2.5 exposure (>EPA recommended maximum) occurred frequently during the study period, with 24,662 women (11 %) having high exposure in all three trimesters. Pregnancies with high PM2.5 exposure through pregnancy had increased PTB risk even after adjustment for coexisting risk factors, adjOR 1.19 (95 % CI 1.09-1.30). Assessed per trimester, high 3(rd) trimester PM2.5 exposure resulted in the highest PTB risk, adjOR 1.28 (95 % CI 1.20-1.37). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to high levels of particulate air pollution, PM2.5, in pregnancy is associated with a 19 % increased risk of PTB; with greatest risk with high 3(rd) trimester exposure. Although the risk increase associated with high PM2.5 levels is modest, the potential impact on overall PTB rates is robust as all pregnant women are potentially at risk. This exposure may in part contribute to the higher preterm birth rates in Ohio compared to other states in the US, especially in urban areas.

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  • DeFranco et al. observed the greatest risk for preterm birth (19% increased risk) in the third trimester.

    “DeFranco et al. [14] also observed the greatest risk for preterm birth (19% increased risk) in the third trimester.”

    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 [14]

    The Results (Table 4) and Abstract Results identify high third-trimester PM2.5 exposure as having the greatest trimester-specific association with preterm birth. But its adjusted odds ratio is 1.28 (28% higher odds), not 1.19; the 1.19 estimate applies to exposure averaged over the entire pregnancy. The paper reports odds ratios rather than a direct measure of risk. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
DeFranco, E., Moravec, W., Xu, F., Hall, E., Hossain, M., Haynes, E. N., Muglia, L., & Chen, A.
Affiliations
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
  • University of Cincinnati (US)
Corresponding author
DeFranco, Emily
ORCID
Venue
Environmental Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-01-15
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
6-6
ISSN
1476-069X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12940-016-0094-3
PMC
PMC4714531
OpenAlex
W2233165203
Cited by
106
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 5
FWCI
9.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Environmental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
March of Dimes Foundation (US) (22-FY13-543 for the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
Keywords
PM2.5, air pollution exposure, preterm birth, pregnancy, trimester-specific exposure, ambient air quality, EPA air quality standards, Ohio
MeSH terms
Air Pollution, Female, Humans, Ohio, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Risk Factors, Cohort Studies, Maternal Exposure, Premature Birth, Particulate Matter

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