The DOI matches its Crossref record; 25 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Air Pollution and Stillbirth Risk: Exposure to Airborne Particulate Matter during Pregnancy Is Associated with Fetal Death
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) is associated with stillbirth. STUDY DESIGN: Geo-spatial population-based cohort study using Ohio birth records (2006-2010) and local measures of PM2.5, recorded by the EPA (2005-2010) via 57 monitoring stations across Ohio. Geographic coordinates of the mother's residence for each birth were linked to the nearest PM2.5 monitoring station and monthly exposure averages calculated. The association between stillbirth and increased PM2.5 levels was estimated, with adjustment for maternal age, race, education level, quantity of prenatal care, smoking, and season of conception. RESULTS: There were 349,188 live births and 1,848 stillbirths of non-anomalous singletons (20-42 weeks) with residence ≤10 km of a monitor station in Ohio during the study period. The mean PM2.5 level in Ohio was 13.3 μg/m3 [±1.8 SD, IQR(Q1: 12.1, Q3: 14.4, IQR: 2.3)], higher than the current EPA standard of 12 μg/m3. High average PM2.5 exposure through pregnancy was not associated with a significant increase in stillbirth risk, adjOR 1.21(95% CI 0.96,1.53), nor was it increased with high exposure in the 1st or 2nd trimester. However, exposure to high levels of PM2.5 in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with 42% increased stillbirth risk, adjOR 1.42(1.06,1.91). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to high levels of fine particulate air pollution in the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with increased stillbirth risk. Although the risk increase associated with high PM2.5 levels is modest, the potential impact on overall stillbirth rates could be robust as all pregnant women are potentially at risk.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Figures
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Similarly, in an Ohio cohort, “high” PM2.5 exposure, defined as greater than or equal to the mean PM2.5 level during the study period (13.3 μg/m3) plus the IQR for the specific time period measured for each birth) was not associated with increase in stillbirth risk through pregnancy, first or second trimester; however, high PM2.5 exposure during the third trimester was associated with 42% increase”
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 [18]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“Our review of the evidence also found that high stress is associated with miscarriage risk (aOR 1·46; 95% CI 1·161·77; Table 6) 66,71,73-77”
From Miscarriage matters: the epidemiological, physical, psychological, and economic costs of early pregnancy loss (2021) · cites this paper as [77]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Long-term air pollution exposure and cardio- respiratory mortality: a review
Hoek, G., Krishnan, R. M., Beelen, R. M. J., Peters, A., Ostro, B. D., Brunekreef, B., & Kaufman, J. D. (2013) · Environmental Health · doi:10.1186/1476-069x-12-43 · Cited by 1,910
Cousens, S., Blencowe, H. K., Stanton, C., Chou, D., Ahmed, S., Steinhardt, L. C., Creanga, A. A., Tunçalp, Ö., Balsara, Z. P., Gupta, S., et al. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(10)62310-0 · Cited by 645
Fetal and perinatal mortality, United States, 2003.
MacDorman, M. F., Hoyert, D. L., Martin, J. A., Munson, M. L., & Hamilton, B. E. (2007) · PubMed · Cited by 473
Particulate Air Pollution and Fetal Health
Glinianaia, S. V., Rankin, J. M., Bell, R., Pless‐Mulloli, T., & Howel, D. (2004) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/01.ede.0000101023.41844.ac · Cited by 371
Fetal and perinatal mortality, United States, 2006.
MacDorman, M. F., Kirmeyer, S., & Wilson, E. M. (2012) · PubMed · Cited by 299
Association between Air Pollution and Intrauterine Mortality in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Pereira, L. A., Loomis, D., Conceição, G. M., Braga, A. L. F., Arcas, R. M., Kishi, H. S., Singer, J. M., Böhm, G. M., & Saldiva, P. H. N. (1998) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp.98106325 · Cited by 238
ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 102: Management of Stillbirth
(2009) · Obstetrics & Gynecology · doi:10.1097/aog.0b013e31819e9ee2 · Cited by 213
Bobák, M., & Leon, D. A. (1999) · Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1136/oem.56.8.539 · Cited by 191
Kloog, I., Melly, S. J., Ridgway, W. L., Coull, B. A., & Schwartz, J. D. (2012) · Environmental Health · doi:10.1186/1476-069x-11-40 · Cited by 177
Traffic-Related Air Toxics and Term Low Birth Weight in Los Angeles County, California
Wilhelm, M., Ghosh, J. K., Su, J. G., Cockburn, M., Jerrett, M., & Ritz, B. R. (2011) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp.1103408 · Cited by 153
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–119 of 119
Khajavi, A., Zahmatkesh, E., Raznahan, M., Shafaghat, A., Noohi, A. H., Khamseh, M. E., Najafi, L., & Zayeri, F. (2025) · Reproductive Toxicology · doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2025.108860 · Cited by 1
Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Evaluation of the Health Impacts of Air Pollution
Sarovar, V. (2017) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 1
Air Pollution and Racial Disparities in Pregnancy Outcomes in the United States: A Systematic ReviewPreprint
Dzekem, B. S., Aschebrook‐Kilfoy, B., & Olopade, C. O. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-208924/v1 · Cited by 1
Zahrieh, D., Oleson, J., & Romitti, P. A. (2019) · Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.sste.2019.01.002
Les chaînes relationnelles entre anciens élèves d'une Ecole d'ingénieurs
Bès, M.-P., & Delarge, N. (2010) · Open Archive Toulouse Archive Ouverte (University of Toulouse)
The hazards of PM2.5 pollution: Empirical evidence from perinatal mortality in ChinaPreprint
Li, G., Li, L., & Liu, D. (2020) · doi:10.21203/rs.2.24425/v1
Contaminants of emerging concern in the fetal environment
Dusza, H. M. (2022) · doi:10.33540/1525
Environmental Agents and Reproductive Risk
Goetzl, L. M., & Backley, S. (2023) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119636540.ch4
Perera, F. P. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197662526.003.0025
The ımpact of clımate change on pregnancy and bırth outcomes: a systematıc revıew
Bay, F., Uğur, N., Tuğ, A., Aksoy, Ş., Alpkaya, T., & Kokus, B. G. (2025) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1007/s10389-025-02597-9
Heo, S., Leung, M., Kioumourtzoglou, M. A., & Bell, M. L. (2025) · AJE Advances Research in Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ajeadv/uuaf009
Tong, M., Lin, W., Liu, H., Gong, J., Zhang, J. (., & Xue, T. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26617258
Johnson, N. M., Hoffmann, A. R., Behlen, J. C., Lau, C. H., Pendleton, D., Harvey, N., Shore, R. A., Li, Y., Chen, J., Tian, Y., et al. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14966363
Li, Z., Ma, H., Shi, T., Zou, Z., Wang, T., Li, R., & Ren, X. (2026) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.119611
Alghamdi, M. A., Bakhashab, S., Khoder, M. I., Sharif, M. Y. A., Assidi, M., Gauthaman, K., Alrefaei, A. F., Pushparaj, P. N., & Abu-Elmagd, M. (2026) · Journal of King Saud University - Science · doi:10.25259/jksus_1679_2025
Maternal ambient air pollution exposure and risk of stillbirth in Georgia, USA
Li, C., Hsiao, T. W., Warren, J. L., Darrow, L. A., Strickland, M. J., Russell, A. G., & Chang, H. H. (2026) · Environmental Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/ee9.0000000000000505
Consequences of Fetal Substance Exposure
Castro, R., Shaw, G. M., & Cohen, R. S. (2026) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009418034.013
Air Pollution and Health Impacts on Women and Children
Nguyen, O. T. K., & Liamputtong, P. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-2085-9_50
Metadata
- Authors
- DeFranco, E., Hall, E., Hossain, M., Chen, A., Haynes, E. N., Jones, D., Ren, S., Lu, L., & Muglia, L.
- Affiliations
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Corresponding author
- DeFranco, Emily
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2015-03-20
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e0120594
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4368103
- OpenAlex
- W2042390942
- Cited by
- 120
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8
- FWCI
- 6.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- March of Dimes Foundation (22-FY13-543)
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
- 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
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
- Keywords
- air pollution, PM2.5, stillbirth, fetal death, pregnancy, trimester-specific exposure, maternal exposure, birth outcomes, Ohio
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Air Pollutants, Air Pollution, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Middle Aged, Ohio, Pregnancy, Risk Factors, Stillbirth, Particulate Matter
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
