Association between Local Traffic-Generated Air Pollution and Preeclampsia and Preterm Delivery in the South Coast Air Basin of California

Background Preeclampsia is a major complication of pregnancy that can lead to substantial maternal and perinatal morbidity, mortality, and preterm birth. Increasing evidence suggests that air pollution adversely affects pregnancy outcomes. Yet few studies have examined how local traffic-generated emissions affect preeclampsia in addition to preterm birth. Objectives We examined effects of residential exposure to local traffic-generated air pollution on preeclampsia and preterm delivery (PTD). Methods We identified 81,186 singleton birth records from four hospitals (1997–2006) in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California (USA). We used a line-source dispersion model (CALINE4) to estimate individual exposure to local traffic-generated nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter < 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) across the entire pregnancy. We used logistic regression to estimate effects of air pollution exposures on preeclampsia, PTD (gestational age < 37 weeks), moderate PTD (MPTD; gestational age < 35 weeks), and very PTD (VPTD; gestational age < 30 weeks). Results We observed elevated risks for preeclampsia and preterm birth from maternal exposure to local traffic-generated NOx and PM2.5. The risk of preeclampsia increased 33% [odds ratio (OR) = 1.33; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.18–1.49] and 42% (OR = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.26–1.59) for the highest NOx and PM2.5 exposure quartiles, respectively. The risk of VPTD increased 128% (OR = 2.28; 95% CI, 2.15–2.42) and 81% (OR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.71–1.92) for women in the highest NOx and PM2.5 exposure quartiles, respectively. Conclusion Exposure to local traffic-generated air pollution during pregnancy increases the risk of preeclampsia and preterm birth in Southern California women. These results provide further evidence that air pollution is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes.

[1]  L. Duley.  Maternal mortality associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean , 1992, British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology.

[2]  A. Nel,et al.  Ultrafine particulate pollutants induce oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. , 2002, Environmental health perspectives.

[3]  G. Oberdörster,et al.  Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles , 2005, Environmental health perspectives.

[4]  R. Reiter,et al.  Causes of Oxidative Stress in the Pre- and Perinatal Period , 2002, Neonatology.

[5]  S. Swan,et al.  Prenatal active or passive tobacco smoke exposure and the risk of preterm delivery or low birth weight. , 2000, Epidemiology.

[6]  R. Gražulevičienė,et al.  Environmental Health: a Global Access Science Source Open Access Maternal Exposure to Low-level Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes: a Population-based Study , 2022 .

[7]  Richard P. Turco,et al.  Development of an individual exposure model for application to the Southern California children's health study , 2005 .

[8]  F. Perera,et al.  Molecular evidence of an interaction between prenatal environmental exposures and birth outcomes in a multiethnic population. , 2004, Environmental health perspectives.

[9]  K. Pinkerton,et al.  INFLUENCE OF AIR POLLUTION ON RESPIRATORY HEALTH DURING PERINATAL DEVELOPMENT , 2006, Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology.

[10]  Yifang Zhu,et al.  Study of ultrafine particles near a major highway with heavy-duty diesel traffic , 2002 .

[11]  L. Grummer-Strawn,et al.  Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and birth outcome: increased effects on pregnant women aged 30 years or older. , 1997, American journal of epidemiology.

[12]  Amit Marmur,et al.  COMPARISON AND EVALUATION OF SEVERAL MOBILE-SOURCE AND LINE-SOURCE MODELS IN ISRAEL , 2003 .

[13]  Robert C. Wolpert,et al.  A Review of the , 1985 .

[14]  J D Kaufman,et al.  Cardiovascular Disease and Air Pollutants: Evaluating and Improving Epidemiological Data Implicating Traffic Exposure , 2007, Inhalation toxicology.

[15]  Zoran Ristovski,et al.  Determination of average emission factors for vehicles on a busy road , 2003 .

[16]  Joachim Heinrich,et al.  Traffic related pollutants in Europe and their effect on allergic disease , 2004, Current opinion in allergy and clinical immunology.

[17]  Stephen J Chanock,et al.  Risk of Spontaneous Preterm Birth is Associated With Common Proinflammatory Cytokine Polymorphisms , 2005, Epidemiology.

[18]  B. Ritz,et al.  Preterm birth: the interaction of traffic-related air pollution with economic hardship in Los Angeles neighborhoods. , 2005, American journal of epidemiology.

[19]  Jun Zhang,et al.  The research implications of the selection of a gestational age estimation method. , 2007, Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology.

[20]  J. Martin,et al.  Births: preliminary data for 2005. , 2006, National vital statistics reports : from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.

[21]  Lidia Morawska,et al.  Concentrations of submicrometre particles from vehicle emissions near a major road , 2000 .

[22]  S F Bottoms,et al.  The preterm prediction study: risk factors for indicated preterm births. Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. , 1998, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[23]  P. E. Benson.  CALINE 4-A DISPERSION MODEL FOR PREDICTIONG AIR POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS NEAR ROADWAYS , 1984 .

[24]  F. Perera,et al.  Prenatal Exposure to Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Risk of Intrauterine Growth Restriction , 2008, Environmental health perspectives.

[25]  Jeremy A Sarnat,et al.  Asthma and air quality , 2007, Current opinion in pulmonary medicine.

[26]  Megan L. Wier,et al.  A comparison of LMP-based and ultrasound-based estimates of gestational age using linked California livebirth and prenatal screening records. , 2007, Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology.

[27]  Beate Ritz,et al.  Residential proximity to traffic and adverse birth outcomes in Los Angeles county, California, 1994-1996. , 2003, Environmental health perspectives.

[28]  W James Gauderman,et al.  Childhood Asthma and Exposure to Traffic and Nitrogen Dioxide , 2005, Epidemiology.

[29]  R. Sram,et al.  The impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fine particles on pregnancy outcome. , 2000, Environmental health perspectives.

[30]  B. Ritz,et al.  Effect of Air Pollution on Preterm Birth Among Children Born in Southern California Between 1989 and 1993 , 2000, Epidemiology.

[31]  L. Doyle.  Cardiopulmonary outcomes of extreme prematurity. , 2008, Seminars in perinatology.

[32]  A. Correa,et al.  A review of the literature on the effects of ambient air pollution on fetal growth. , 2004, Environmental research.

[33]  D. Wing,et al.  Intrinsic racial differences in the risk of cesarean delivery are not explained by differences in caregivers or hospital site of delivery. , 2006, American journal of obstetrics and gynecology.

[34]  R. Delfino,et al.  Epidemiologic evidence for asthma and exposure to air toxics: linkages between occupational, indoor, and community air pollution research. , 2001, Environmental health perspectives.

[35]  Toshifumi Hotchi,et al.  Passive measurement of nitrogen oxides to assess traffic-related pollutant exposure for the East Bay Children's Respiratory Health Study , 2004 .

[36]  E. Alberman.  From Conception to Birth: Epidemiology of Prenatal Development , 1991 .

[37]  E. Fujita,et al.  Overview of the 1997 Southern California Ozone Study (SCOS97-NARSTO) , 2003 .

[38]  D. Ceburnis,et al.  Validation of CALINE4 modelling for carbon monoxide concentrations under free-flowing and congested traffic conditions in Ireland , 2005 .

[39]  Roberto Romero,et al.  Epidemiology and causes of preterm birth , 2008, The Lancet.

[40]  M. Mitchell,et al.  Cytokines, prostaglandins and parturition--a review. , 2003, Placenta.

[41]  C. Ananth,et al.  Preeclampsia and Preterm Birth Subtypes in Nova Scotia, 1986 to 1992 , 1997, American journal of perinatology.

[42]  Robin M Whyatt,et al.  Effects of transplacental exposure to environmental pollutants on birth outcomes in a multiethnic population. , 2003, Environmental health perspectives.

[43]  C. Rudra,et al.  A Prospective Study of Periconceptional Ambient Air Pollutant Exposures and Preeclampsia Risk , 2006 .

[44]  R. Slama,et al.  Traffic-Related Atmospheric Pollutants Levels during Pregnancy and Offspring’s Term Birth Weight: A Study Relying on a Land-Use Regression Exposure Model , 2007, Environmental health perspectives.

[45]  D. Fitz,et al.  Measurement of PM 10 Emission Factors from Paved Roads Using On-Board Particle Sensors , 2002 .

[46]  S. Lipshultz,et al.  Effects of environmental exposures on the cardiovascular system: prenatal period through adolescence. , 2004, Pediatrics.

[47]  S. Lye,et al.  Understanding Preterm Labor , 2001, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[48]  T. D. de Kok,et al.  Toxicological assessment of ambient and traffic-related particulate matter: a review of recent studies. , 2006, Mutation research.

[49]  L. Doyle,et al.  Outcome to five years of age of children born at 24‐26 weeks' gestational age in Victoria , 1995, The Medical journal of Australia.

[50]  Jaakko Kukkonen,et al.  Evaluation of the CALINE4 and CAR-FMI models against measurements near a major road , 2005 .

[51]  LOCAL CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA , 1946 .

[52]  S. Karumanchi,et al.  Pre-Eclampsia: Clinical Manifestations and Molecular Mechanisms , 2007, Nephron Clinical Practice.

[53]  Queensland,et al.  2011 Census of Population and Housing , 2011 .

[54]  Chun-Yuh Yang,et al.  Evidence for Increased Risks of Preterm Delivery in a Population Residing near a Freeway in Taiwan , 2003, Archives of environmental health.

[55]  Arthur M. Winer,et al.  Exposure of PM2.5 and EC from diesel and gasoline vehicles in communities near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California , 2009 .

[56]  J. Gulliver,et al.  A review of land-use regression models to assess spatial variation of outdoor air pollution , 2008 .

[57]  Beate Ritz,et al.  Local Variations in CO and Particulate Air Pollution and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Los Angeles County, California, USA , 2005, Environmental health perspectives.

[58]  R. Wyzga,et al.  Statistical considerations in determining the health significance of constituents of airborne particulate matter. , 1999, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[59]  F. Perera,et al.  International Studies of Prenatal Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Fetal Growth , 2006, Environmental health perspectives.

[60]  Beate Ritz,et al.  Ambient air pollution and preterm birth in the environment and pregnancy outcomes study at the University of California, Los Angeles. , 2007, American journal of epidemiology.

[61]  W. King,et al.  Residential mobility during pregnancy. , 2004, Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology.

[62]  A. Nel,et al.  The role of particulate pollutants in pulmonary inflammation and asthma: evidence for the involvement of organic chemicals and oxidative stress , 2001, Current opinion in pulmonary medicine.

[63]  Altaf Arain,et al.  A review and evaluation of intraurban air pollution exposure models , 2005, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.

[64]  Abigail S. Hoats,et al.  Residential Traffic and Children’s Respiratory Health , 2008, Environmental health perspectives.

[65]  Martin Bobak,et al.  Ambient Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Review of the Literature , 2005, Environmental health perspectives.

[66]  Thomas Sandström,et al.  Persistent endothelial dysfunction in humans after diesel exhaust inhalation. , 2007, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[67]  Pingkuan Di,et al.  Diesel Particulate Matter Exposure Assessment Study for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach , 2006 .

[68]  Michael Brauer,et al.  Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, and , 2022 .

[69]  P. E. Benson.  CALINE4 - A DISPERSION MODEL FOR PREDICTING AIR POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS NEAR ROADWAYS. FINAL REPORT , 1984 .

[70]  J. Olsen,et al.  Reproductive Epidemiology , 2005, Handbook of Epidemiology.

[71]  Paul E Benson,et al.  A REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF THE CALINE3 AND 4 MODELS , 1992 .

[72]  D. Shah.  Preeclampsia: new insights , 2007, Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension.