Association between GIS-Based Exposure to Urban Air Pollution during Pregnancy and Birth Weight in the INMA Sabadell Cohort

Background

There is growing evidence that traffic-related air pollution reduces birth weight. Improving exposure assessment is a key issue to advance in this research area.

Objective

We investigated the effect of prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution via geographic information system (GIS) models on birth weight in 570 newborns from the INMA (Environment and Childhood) Sabadell cohort.

Methods

We estimated pregnancy and trimester-specific exposures to nitrogen dioxide and aromatic hydrocarbons [benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, and o-xylene (BTEX)] by using temporally adjusted land-use regression (LUR) models. We built models for NO₂ and BTEX using four and three 1-week measurement campaigns, respectively, at 57 locations. We assessed the relationship between prenatal air pollution exposure and birth weight with linear regression models. We performed sensitivity analyses considering time spent at home and time spent in nonresidential outdoor environments during pregnancy.

Results

In the overall cohort, neither NO₂ nor BTEX exposure was significantly associated with birth weight in any of the exposure periods. When considering only women who spent < 2 hr/day in nonresidential outdoor environments, the estimated reductions in birth weight associated with an interquartile range increase in BTEX exposure levels were 77 g [95% confidence interval (CI), 7–146 g] and 102 g (95% CI, 28–176 g) for exposures during the whole pregnancy and the second trimester, respectively. The effects of NO₂ exposure were less clear in this subset.

Conclusions

The association of BTEX with reduced birth weight underscores the negative role of vehicle exhaust pollutants in reproductive health. Time–activity patterns during pregnancy complement GIS-based models in exposure assessment.