Industrial Air Pollution Leads to Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Systematized Review of Different Exposure Metrics and Health Effects in Newborns

Overview

Journal Public Health Rev

Specialty Public Health

Date 2022 Aug 29

PMID 36035982

Authors

Triin Veber

Usha Dahal

Katrin Lang

Kati Orru

Hans Orru

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

To review the evidence of associations between adverse birth outcomes (ABO) and industrial air pollution. Searches were conducted in PubMed, and Scopus databases, and additional articles were found from snowball search techniques. The included studies feature a study population of mothers with live-born babies exposed to industrial air pollutants, and they examine the effects of industrial pollutants on adverse birth outcomes-namely, low birth weight, term low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age. Altogether, 45 studies were included in this review. Exposure to PM, PAHs, benzene, cadmium, and mixtures of industrial air pollutants and living near an industrial area affect birth outcomes. This study concludes that industrial air pollution is an important risk factor for ABO, especially low birth weight and preterm birth. The strongest evidence is associations between ABO and air pollution from power plants and petrochemical industries. Understanding of specific chemicals that are critical to birth outcomes is still vague. However, the evidence is strongest for more specific air pollutants from the industry, such as PAH, benzene, BTEX, and cadmium.

Citing Articles

Environmental contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and contribution from biomonitoring studies to the surveillance of global health.

Teixeira J, Delerue-Matos C, Morais S, Oliveira M Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024; 31(42):54339-54362.

PMID: 39207613 PMC: 11413127. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-34727-3.

Possible Risk Factors and Their Potential Associations with Combined Heavy Metal Exposures in Pregnant Women in the Republic of Suriname.

Sewberath Misser V, Hindori-Mohangoo A, Shankar A, Lichtveld M, Wickliffe J, Mans D Ann Glob Health. 2024; 90(1):30.

PMID: 38618276 PMC: 11011959. DOI: 10.5334/aogh.4402.

Dietary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Consumption and Risk of Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Sewor C, Eliason S, Jaakkola J, Amegah A Environ Health Perspect. 2024; 132(1):16002.

PMID: 38241191 PMC: 10798428. DOI: 10.1289/EHP12922.

Industrial air pollution and low birth weight in New Mexico, USA.

Gong X, Huang Y, Duong J, Leng S, Zhan F, Guo Y J Environ Manage. 2023; 348:119236.

PMID: 37857221 PMC: 10829484. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119236.

Perinatal Health Inequalities in the Industrial Region of Estonia: A Birth Registry-Based Study.

Dahal U, Veber T, Astrom D, Tamm T, Albreht L, Teinemaa E Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(18).

PMID: 36141830 PMC: 9516979. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191811559.

References

Nieuwenhuijsen M, Dadvand P, Grellier J, Martinez D, Vrijheid M . Environmental risk factors of pregnancy outcomes: a summary of recent meta-analyses of epidemiological studies. Environ Health. 2013; 12:6. PMC: 3582445. DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-12-6. View

Govarts E, Remy S, Bruckers L, Den Hond E, Sioen I, Nelen V . Combined Effects of Prenatal Exposures to Environmental Chemicals on Birth Weight. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016; 13(5). PMC: 4881120. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13050495. View

Parker J, Mendola P, Woodruff T . Preterm birth after the Utah Valley Steel Mill closure: a natural experiment. Epidemiology. 2008; 19(6):820-3. DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181883d5d. View

Tsai S, Yu H, Chang C, Chuang H, Yang C . Increased risk of preterm delivery in women residing near thermal power plants in Taiwan. Arch Environ Health. 2005; 59(9):478-83. DOI: 10.1080/00039890409603429. View

Kelly F . Oxidative stress: its role in air pollution and adverse health effects. Occup Environ Med. 2003; 60(8):612-6. PMC: 1740593. DOI: 10.1136/oem.60.8.612. View

Seabrook J, Smith A, Clark A, Gilliland J . Geospatial analyses of adverse birth outcomes in Southwestern Ontario: Examining the impact of environmental factors. Environ Res. 2019; 172:18-26. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.068. View

Reis M, Guimaraes M, Braga A, Martins L, Pereira L . Air pollution and low birth weight in an industrialized city in Southeastern Brazil, 2003-2006. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 2017; 20(2):189-199. DOI: 10.1590/1980-5497201700020001. View

Nielsen C, Amrhein C, Shah P, Stieb D, Osornio-Vargas A . Space-time hot spots of critically ill small for gestational age newborns and industrial air pollutants in major metropolitan areas of Canada. Environ Res. 2020; 186:109472. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109472. View

Rogers J, Dunlop A . Air pollution and very low birth weight infants: a target population?. Pediatrics. 2006; 118(1):156-64. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2005-2432. View

10.

Tsai S, Yu H, Liu C, Yang C . Increased incidence of preterm delivery in mothers residing in an industrialized area in Taiwan. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2003; 66(11):987-94. DOI: 10.1080/15287390306396. View

11.

Swanson J, Entringer S, Buss C, Wadhwa P . Developmental origins of health and disease: environmental exposures. Semin Reprod Med. 2009; 27(5):391-402. PMC: 2862627. DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1237427. View

12.

Stieb D, Chen L, Eshoul M, Judek S . Ambient air pollution, birth weight and preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Res. 2012; 117:100-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2012.05.007. View

13.

Novakova Z, Novak J, Kitanovski Z, Kukucka P, Smutna M, Wietzoreck M . Toxic potentials of particulate and gaseous air pollutant mixtures and the role of PAHs and their derivatives. Environ Int. 2020; 139:105634. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105634. View

14.

Melody S, Wills K, Knibbs L, Ford J, Venn A, Johnston F . Adverse birth outcomes in Victoria, Australia in association with maternal exposure to low levels of ambient air pollution. Environ Res. 2020; 188:109784. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109784. View

15.

Kannan S, Misra D, Dvonch J, Krishnakumar A . Exposures to airborne particulate matter and adverse perinatal outcomes: a biologically plausible mechanistic framework for exploring potential effect modification by nutrition. Environ Health Perspect. 2006; 114(11):1636-42. PMC: 1665414. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.9081. View

16.

Marques M, Domingo J, Nadal M, Schuhmacher M . Health risks for the population living near petrochemical industrial complexes. 2. Adverse health outcomes other than cancer. Sci Total Environ. 2020; 730:139122. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139122. View

17.

Yang C, Chiu H, Tsai S, Chang C, Chuang H . Increased risk of preterm delivery in areas with cancer mortality problems from petrochemical complexes. Environ Res. 2002; 89(3):195-200. DOI: 10.1006/enrs.2002.4374. View

18.

Dejmek J, Selevan S, BENES I, Solansky I, Sram R . Fetal growth and maternal exposure to particulate matter during pregnancy. Environ Health Perspect. 1999; 107(6):475-80. PMC: 1566587. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.99107475. View

19.

Cassidy-Bushrow A, Burmeister C, Lamerato L, Lemke L, Mathieu M, OLeary B . Prenatal airshed pollutants and preterm birth in an observational birth cohort study in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Environ Res. 2020; 189:109845. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109845. View

20.

Arbuckle T . Maternal-infant biomonitoring of environmental chemicals: the epidemiologic challenges. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2010; 88(10):931-7. DOI: 10.1002/bdra.20694. View