Prenatal Ambient Particulate Matter Exposure and Longitudinal Weight Growth Trajectories in Early Childhood

Anna S. Rosofsky, M. Patricia Fabian, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Megan Sandel, Sharon Coleman, Jonathan I. Levy, Brent A. Coull, Jaime E. Hart and Antonella Zanobetti
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Anna S. Rosofsky: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
M. Patricia Fabian: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Megan Sandel: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Sharon Coleman: Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Jonathan I. Levy: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Brent A. Coull: Department of Biostatistics, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jaime E. Hart: Department of Environmental Health, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Antonella Zanobetti: Department of Environmental Health, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Air pollution exposure during pregnancy has been associated with impaired fetal growth and postnatal weight gain, but few studies have examined the effect on weight growth trajectories. We examine the association between validated 1 km 2 resolution particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations, averaged over pregnancy, and sex-specific growth trajectories from birth to age six of participants in the Boston-based Children’s HealthWatch cohort (4797 participants, 84,283 measures). We compared weight trajectories, predicted using polynomial splines in mixed models, between prenatal PM 2.5 above or below the median (9.5 µg/m 3 ), and examined birth weight as an effect modifier. Females exposed to average prenatal PM 2.5 ≥ 9.5 µg/m 3 had higher weights compared to females exposed to < 9.5 µg/m 3 throughout the study period (0.16 kg at 24 months, 0.61 kg at 60 months). In males, higher prenatal PM 2.5 exposure was associated with significantly lower weights after 24 months of age, with differences increasing with time (−0.17 at 24 months, −0.72 kg at 60 months). Associations were more pronounced among low birth weight (<2500 g) females, but did not differ by birth weight status in males. Our findings demonstrate the complex association between air pollution exposures and childhood weight trajectories and emphasize the importance of sex-stratified analyses.

Keywords: air pollution; PM 2.5; weight trajectories; in utero exposures; growth; childhood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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