A review of the literature on the effects of ambient air pollution on fetal growth.

A systematic review of the literature on the effects of air pollution on low birth weight (LBW) and its determinants, preterm delivery (PTD) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), was conducted. Twelve epidemiologic investigations that addressed the impact of air pollution on four pregnancy outcomes were identified. Results were analyzed separately for each perinatal outcome because of differences in pathogenic mechanisms. Effects of air pollution were apparent on PTD and IUGR, but not on LBW. Most of the associations reported were rather small. The estimation of summary effects was not meaningful because of the heterogeneity of the effect estimates arising from differences in the measurements of outcome, exposure, and confounders and the small number of studies per outcome (four studies for PTD and six for IUGR). Current scientific knowledge on the impact of air pollution on fetal growth is still limited; thus, several issues should be examined further.

[1]  M Bobak,et al.  Pregnancy outcomes and outdoor air pollution: an ecological study in districts of the Czech Republic 1986-8. , 1999, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[2]  B. Ritz,et al.  The effect of ambient carbon monoxide on low birth weight among children born in southern California between 1989 and 1993. , 1999, Environmental health perspectives.

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

[4]  Xiping Xu,et al.  Association between air pollution and low birth weight: a community-based study. , 1997, Environmental health perspectives.

[5]  E. Lieberman,et al.  Cigarettes, Coffee, and Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes , 1992 .

[6]  D. Savitz,et al.  Maternal exposure to neighborhood carbon monoxide and risk of low infant birth weight. , 1987, Public health reports.

[7]  B. Armstrong,et al.  Cigarette, alcohol, and coffee consumption and prematurity. , 1992, American journal of public health.

[8]  J. Kline,et al.  Conception to Birth: Epidemiology of Prenatal Development , 1989 .

[9]  C. Ananth,et al.  Maternal cigarette smoking as a risk factor for placental abruption, placenta previa, and uterine bleeding in pregnancy. , 1996, American journal of epidemiology.

[10]  D. Hughes,et al.  The role of social change in preventing low birth weight. , 1995, The Future of children.

[11]  J Schwartz,et al.  Is Air Pollution a Risk Factor for Low Birth Weight in Seoul? , 2001, Epidemiology.

[12]  B. Mercer.  Preterm premature rupture of the membranes. , 2003, Obstetrics and gynecology.

[13]  S J Thompson,et al.  Association of very low birth weight with exposures to environmental sulfur dioxide and total suspended particulates. , 2000, American journal of epidemiology.

[14]  C. Lockwood.  Recent advances in elucidating the pathogenesis of preterm delivery, the detection of patients at risk, and preventative therapies , 1994, Current opinion in obstetrics & gynecology.

[15]  O. Landgren,et al.  Environmental pollution and delivery outcome in southern Sweden: a study with central registries , 1996, Acta paediatrica.

[16]  W. MacNee,et al.  Particulate air pollution and acute health effects , 1995, The Lancet.

[17]  E. Lieberman,et al.  Low birthweight at term and the timing of fetal exposure to maternal smoking. , 1994, American journal of public health.

[18]  S G Selevan,et al.  Fetal growth and maternal exposure to particulate matter during pregnancy. , 1999, Environmental health perspectives.

[19]  W. Godwin.  Article in Press , 2000 .

[20]  M. Bobák.  Outdoor air pollution, low birth weight, and prematurity. , 2000, Environmental health perspectives.

[21]  W H Glaze,et al.  Environmental Research , 1967, Nature.

[22]  F. Perera,et al.  Recent developments in molecular epidemiology: A study of the effects of environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on birth outcomes in Poland. , 1998, American journal of epidemiology.

[23]  Xiping Xu,et al.  Acute effects of total suspended particles and sulfur dioxides on preterm delivery: a community-based cohort study. , 1995, Archives of environmental health.

[24]  A. Correa,et al.  Relation between ambient air pollution and low birth weight in the Northeastern United States. , 2001, Environmental health perspectives.