Small for gestational age and exposure to particulate air pollution in the early-life environment of twins

Bijnens, Esmée; Derom, Cathérine; Gielen, Marij; Winckelmans, Ellen; Fierens, Frans; Vlietinck, Robert; Nawrot, Tim S.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.03.006

Cited by 32 publications

(43 citation statements)

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“…Compared with term-born singletons, twins are more susceptible to prenatal exposure of particulate air pollution [ 22 ]. In addition, we observed in previous research that maternal residential proximity to traffic and lower residential surrounding greenness is associated with shorter placental telomere length at birth in twins [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telomere tracking from birth to adulthood and residential traffic exposure

Bijnens

Zeegers

Derom

et al. 2017

BMC Med

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BackgroundTelomere attrition is extremely rapid during the first years of life, while lifestyle during adulthood exerts a minor impact. This suggests that early life is an important period in the determination of telomere length. We investigated the importance of the early-life environment on both telomere tracking and adult telomere length.MethodsAmong 184 twins of the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey, telomere length in placental tissue and in buccal cells in young adulthood was measured. Residential addresses at birth and in young adulthood were geocoded and residential traffic and greenness exposure was determined.ResultsWe investigated individual telomere tracking from birth over a 20 year period (mean age (SD), 22.6 (3.1) years) in association with residential exposure to traffic and greenness. Telomere length in placental tissue and in buccal cells in young adulthood correlated positively (r = 0.31, P < 0.0001). Persons with higher placental telomere length at birth were more likely to have a stronger downward shift in telomere ranking over life (P < 0.0001). Maternal residential traffic exposure correlated inversely with telomere length at birth. Independent of birth placental telomere length, telomere ranking between birth and young adulthood was negatively and significantly associated with residential traffic exposure at the birth address, while traffic exposure at the residential address at adult age was not associated with telomere length.ConclusionsLongitudinal evidence of telomere length tracking from birth to adulthood shows inverse associations of residential traffic exposure in association with telomere length at birth as well as accelerated telomere shortening in the first two decades of life.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12916-017-0964-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telomere tracking from birth to adulthood and residential traffic exposure

Bijnens

Zeegers

Derom

et al. 2017

BMC Med

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“…Air pollution is associated with small for gestational age and birth weight in moderate-to-late preterm born twins. The within-pair difference in birth weight increases with higher air pollution exposure during the last month of pregnancy (Bijnens et al, 2016).…”

Section: Perinatal Outcome and Timing Of Twinningmentioning

confidence: 95%

The East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS): 55 Years Later

et al. 2019

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The East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS) is a registry of multiple births in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Since its start in 1964, over 10,000 twin-pairs have been registered. EFPTS has several unique features: it is population-based and prospective, with the possibility of long-term follow-up; the twins (and higher order multiple births) are recruited at birth; basic perinatal data are recorded; chorion type and zygosity are established; since 1969, placental biopsies have been taken and frozen at –20°C for future research. Since its origin, the EFPTS has included placental data and allows differentiation of three subtypes of monozygotic twins based on the time of the initial zygotic division: the dichorionic–diamniotic pairs (early, with splitting before the fourth day after fertilization), the monochorionic–diamniotic pairs (intermediate, splitting between the fourth- and the seventh-day postfertilization) and the monochorionic–monoamniotic pairs (late, splitting after the eighth day postfertilization). Studies can be initiated taking into account primary biases, those originating ‘in utero’. Such studies could throw new light on the consequences of early embryological events and the gene–environment interactions as far as periconceptional and intrauterine environment are concerned.

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“…However, the health impacts of LFS on susceptible pregnant women, another highly vulnerable group due to gestation-related physiological changes, such as an increased breathing rate during pregnancy 10 , are rarely discussed. Previous studies have shown that gestational exposure to air pollutants, including those derived from LPS and other emissions, are associated with abnormal placental vascular function and, consequently, low birthweight (LBW) 11 , preterm birth 12 , and small for gestational age 13 . Exposure to air pollution induces subclinical disorders, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, increased blood viscosity, mitochondrial methylation, and hypoxia 14,15 , which renders the association between LFS and adverse maternal outcomes biologically plausible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to landscape fire smoke extremely reduced birthweight in low- and middle-income countries

Guan

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Landscape fire smoke (LFS) has been associated with reduced birthweight, but evidence from low and middle income countries (LMICs) is rare. Here, we present a sibling matched case control study of 227,948 newborns to identify an association between fire sourced fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and birthweight in 54 LMICs from 2000 to 2014. We selected mothers from the geocoded Demographic and Health Survey with at least two children and valid birthweight records. Newborns affiliated with the same mother were defined as a family group. Gestational exposure to LFS was assessed in each newborn using the concentration of fire sourced PM2.5. We determined the associations of the within group variations in LFS exposure with birthweight differences between matched siblings using a fixed effects regression model. Additionally, we analyzed the binary outcomes of low birthweight (LBW) or very low birthweight (VLBW). According to fully adjusted models, a 1 ug/m3 increase in the concentration of fire sourced PM2.5 was significantly associated with a 2.17 g (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56, 3.77) reduction in birthweight, a 2.80% (95% CI: 0.97, 4.66) increase in LBW risk, and an 11.68% (95% CI: 3.59, 20.40) increase in VLBW risk. Our findings indicate that gestational exposure to LFS harms maternal health.

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Small for gestational age and exposure to particulate air pollution in the early-life environment of twins

Cited by 32 publications

References 28 publications

Telomere tracking from birth to adulthood and residential traffic exposure

Telomere tracking from birth to adulthood and residential traffic exposure

The East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS): 55 Years Later

Exposure to landscape fire smoke extremely reduced birthweight in low- and middle-income countries

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