Gender differences in fetal growth of newborns exposed prenatally to airborne fine particulate matter

AbstractOur primary purpose was to assess sex-specific fetal growth reduction in newborns exposed prenatally to fine particulate matter. Only women 18–35 years of age, who claimed to be non-smokers, with singleton pregnancies, without illicit drug use and HIV infection, free from chronic diseases were eligible for the study. A total of 481 enrolled pregnant women who gave birth between 37 and 43 weeks of gestation were included in the study. Prenatal personal exposure to fine particles over 48h during the second trimester was measured using personal monitors. To evaluate the relationship between the level of PM2.5 measured over 48h in the second trimester of pregnancy with those in the first and the third trimesters, a series of repeated measurements in each trimester was carried out in a random subsample of 85 pregnant women. We assessed the effect of PM2.5 exposure on the birth outcomes (weight, length and head circumference at birth) by multivariable regression models, controlling for potential confounders (maternal education, gestational age, parity, maternal height and prepregnancy weight, sex of infant, prenatal environmental tobacco smoke, and season of birth). Birth outcomes were associated positively with gestational age, parity, maternal height and prepregnancy weight, but negatively with the level of prenatal PM2.5 exposure. Overall average increase in gestational period of prenatal exposure to fine particles by about 30μg/m3, i.e., from 25th percentile (23.4μg/m3) to 75th percentile (53.1μg/m3) brought about an average birth weight deficit of 97.2g (95% CI: −201, 6.6) and length at birth of 0.7cm (95% CI: −1.36, −0.04). The corresponding exposure lead to birth weight deficit in male newborns of 189g (95% CI: −34.2, −343) in comparison to 17g in female newborns; the deficit of length at birth in male infants amounted to 1.1cm (95% CI: −0.11, −2.04). We found a significant interrelationship between self-reported ETS and PM2.5, however, none of the models showed a significant interaction of both variables. The joint effect of various levels of PM2.5 and ETS on birth outcomes showed the significant deficit only for the categories of exposure with higher component of PM2.5. Concluding, the results of the study suggest that observed deficits in birth outcomes are rather attributable to prenatal PM2.5 exposure and not to environmental tobacco smoke. The study also provided evidence that male fetuses are more sensitive to prenatal PM2.5 exposure and this should persuade policy makers to consider birth outcomes by gender separately while setting air pollution guidelines