Can Exposure to Air Pollution During Early Pregnancy Lead to Negative Birth Outcomes?

Air pollution might be responsible for premature and low birth weight babies. Avoid high pollution areas or use air filtration systems during the early stages of pregnancy.

Air pollution may be responsible for the birth of a premature and underweight infant. Exposure to pollution during early pregnancy may lead to high risk of vision and hearing problems, learning problems and even death, according to recent study.

Exposure to air pollution during the first or second trimester in humans has a connection with more negative birth outcomes than exposure later in pregnancy. Researchers studied the effects of fine particulate air pollution which usually comes from car exhaust, coal-fired power plants, and other industrial processes.

The Link Between Air Pollution and Premature Death
Long-term exposure to certain air pollutants increases the risk of premature deaths at levels below current national standards

‘Exposure to air pollution which usually comes from car exhaust, coal-fired power plants, and other industrial processes during early pregnancy, may harm babies.’

They also examined obstetric outcomes based on exposures during different stages of pregnancy in mice. "This first study of this problem in mice adds to the growing body of evidence that inhalation of particulate matter from implantation through the second trimester of pregnancy is potentially dangerous," says lead author and investigator Jason Blum, PhD, MS, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at NYU School of Medicine.

In the study, pregnant mice were randomly assigned to one of two groups-- one exposed to filtered air and a second to concentrated PM2.5. The mice exposed to particles were also randomly assigned for exposure during one of four gestational periods designed to mirror the stages of human pregnancy: period 1(0.5-5.5 days); period 2(6.5-14.5 days); period 3(14.5-16.5 days); or period 4(0.5-16.5 days).

Researchers measured both the duration of pregnancy and birth weight of the offspring to identify the effects of concentrated PM2.5 over the time periods. Their results show that exposure to air pollution during period one resulted in preterm birth for about 83 percent of exposed mouse litters.

Life Expectancy Reduces With Increased Air Pollution: Study
An increase in air pollution decreases victims' life expectancy by 9-11 years more and the estimated cost is 3 times lower in EU when compared to the US.

Similarly, exposure to PM2.5 from conception to the end of the second trimester--periods one, two and three--resulted in an 11.4 percent decrease in birth weight for 50 percent of the litters.

Exposure during the first and second trimester also came with decreased body length, decreased placental weight, and decreased anogenital distance, which can reflect abnormal hormone levels, says Blum. Senior study author Judith Zelikoff, PhD, a professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at NYU School of Medicine stated, "These findings could lead physicians to advise women to avoid high pollution areas or use air filtration systems during the early stages of pregnancy."

Exposure To Contaminated Air Has Adverse Health Effect in Aircrew
The health of aircrew deteriorates as they are suspected to have been exposed to contaminated air during their careers.

The March of Dimes grant 21-F12-13 and the NYU NIEHS Center grant ES000260 supported the funding for the research. Drs. Blum, Zelikoff and other NYU School of Medicine researchers that were involved in this study are Lung-Chi Chen, PhD, and lab technicians Carol Hoffman-Budde and Mianhua Zhong. The study, conducted by researchers of NYU School of Medicine, was published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Air Pollution Linked to Insulin Resistance in Kids
A new study reveals that children who live in areas that have higher levels of air pollution develop insulin resistance.

Source-ANI