Association of Fine Particulate Matter and Its Components with Macrosomia: A Nationwide Birth Cohort Study of 336 Chinese Cities

Abstract

To examine the associations between macrosomia risk and exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and its chemical components during pregnancy, we collected birth records between 2010 and 2015 in mainland China from the National Free Preconception Health Examination Project and used satellite-based models to estimate concentrations of PM2.5 mass and five main components, namely, black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), nitrate (NO3 –), sulfate (SO4 2–), and ammonium (NH4 +). Associations between macrosomia risk and prenatal exposure to PM2.5 were examined by logistic regression analysis, and the sensitive subgroups were explored by stratified analyses. Of the 3,248,263 singleton newborns from 336 cities, 165,119 (5.1%) had macrosomia. Each interquartile range increase in concentration of PM2.5 during the entire pregnancy was associated with increased risk of macrosomia (odds ratio (OR) = 1.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.17–1.20). Among specific components, the largest effect estimates were found on NO3 – (OR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.35–1.38) followed by OC (OR = 1.23; 95% CI, 1.22–1.24), NH4 + (OR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.21–1.23), and BC (OR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.20–1.22). We also that found boys, women with a normal or lower prepregnancy body mass index, and women with irregular or no folic acid supplementation experienced higher risk of macrosomia associated with PM2.5 exposure.

Association of air pollution exposure and increased coronary artery disease risk: the modifying effect of genetic susceptibility

“…First, air pollutants are made up of many different components [30,31], but we only explored the associations between some common pollutants, including PM 2.5 , PM 2.5−10 , PM 10 , NO 2 and NO x and CAD risk, ignoring the specific parts of air pollutant chemical constituents. Further studies may concentrate on the associations of certain components or physical, chemical or biological properties of air pollutant components and CAD risk [49,50]. Second, air pollution exposure may be misclassified because the exposure data for this study were only restricted to residential addresses.…”