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Quinn AK, Adjei IA, Ae-Ngibise KA, Agyei O, Boamah-Kaali EA, Burkart K, Carrión D, Chillrud SN, Gould CF, Gyaase S, Jack DW, Kaali S, Kinney PL, Lee AG, Mujtaba MN, Oppong FB, Owusu-Agyei S, Yawson A, Wylie BJ, Asante KP. Prenatal household air pollutant exposure is associated with reduced size and gestational age at birth among a cohort of Ghanaian infants. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2021; 155:106659. [PMID: 34134048 PMCID: PMC8628363 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low birth weight and prematurity are important risk factors for death and disability, and may be affected by prenatal exposure to household air pollution (HAP). METHODS We investigate associations between maternal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) during pregnancy and birth outcomes (birth weight, birth length, head circumference, gestational age, low birth weight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth) among 1288 live-born infants in the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS). We evaluate whether evidence of malaria during pregnancy, as determined by placental histopathology, modifies these associations. RESULTS We observed effects of CO on birth weight, birth length, and gestational age that were modified by placental malarial status. Among infants from pregnancies without evidence of placental malaria, each 1 ppm increase in CO was associated with reduced birth weight (-53.4 g [95% CI: -84.8, -21.9 g]), birth length (-0.3 cm [-0.6, -0.1 cm]), gestational age (-1.0 days [-1.8, -0.2 days]), and weight-for-age Z score (-0.08 standard deviations [-0.16, -0.01 standard deviations]). These associations were not observed in pregnancies with evidence of placental malaria. Each 1 ppm increase in maternal exposure to CO was associated with elevated odds of low birth weight (LBW, OR 1.14 [0.97, 1.33]) and small for gestational age (SGA, OR 1.14 [0.98, 1.32]) among all infants. CONCLUSIONS Even modest reductions in exposure to HAP among pregnant women could yield substantial public health benefits, underscoring a need for interventions to effectively reduce exposure. Adverse associations with HAP were discernible only among those without evidence of placental malaria, a key driver of impaired fetal growth in this malaria-endemic area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashlinn K Quinn
- Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | | | - Oscar Agyei
- Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Ghana
| | | | | | - Daniel Carrión
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Steven N Chillrud
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Carlos F Gould
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Darby W Jack
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Seyram Kaali
- Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Ghana
| | | | - Alison G Lee
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Seth Owusu-Agyei
- Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Ghana; Institute of Health Research, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
| | - Abena Yawson
- Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Ghana
| | - Blair J Wylie
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
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