Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) has been associated with exposure to air pollution, but it is unclear whether effects might vary among air pollution sources in a valley city, and yet few studies have investigated refined susceptible windows for PTB. We performed a retrospective birth cohort study in Yan’an city, a typical valley city in the west of China, and analyze the effects of air pollutants on premature delivery, identify critical windows for maternal air pollutants exposure and PTB. The pregnant women who gave birth in the Affiliated Hospital of Yan’an University and Yan’an people’s Hospital from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019 were selected as the research objects. A questionnaire survey and medical records were conducted. The daily average concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and ≤ 10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) in Yan’an City from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 were collected. After controlling the confounding factors of PTB by logistic regression model, the effect of air pollutants on preterm birth was analyzed. After controlling the confounding factors such as maternal age, gestational times and gestational hypertension syndrome, PTB was associated with exposure to third trimester PM10 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.019, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.004–1.035). PTB risk increased with second trimester exposure to SO2 (aOR = 1.039, CI = 1.011–1.068), also with third trimester (aOR = 1.031, CI = 1.010–1.053). PTB was also associated with third trimester O3 (aOR = 1.023, CI = 1.005–1.041). This study indicates that maternal exposure to PM10, SO2 and O3 might lead to increased risk of PTB, and critical exposure windows were inconsistent.
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Supporting data set will be made available upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all of the volunteers that took part in this study and the people for their assistance in technical and laboratory support. Thanks to Qingyue open environment data center (https://data.epmap.org).
Funding
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41761100) and the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (2018JQ4013).
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He Jinwei conceived and supervised the study.
Cao Na completed the analyses.
Cao Na led the writing.
Hei Jiangrong, Wang Huifang and He Jinrong assisted with the study and analyses.
Liu Yizhao and Ren Yuanyuan collected data.
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The study was approved by the “Medical Ethics Committee of Medical school of Yan’an University”, and all subjects gave informed written consent (No. 2019–25). All the patients provided their informed consent for participation in the study.
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He, J., Cao, N., Hei, J. et al. Relationship between ambient air pollution and preterm birth: a retrospective birth cohort study in Yan’an, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 73271–73281 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20852-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20852-4