Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age

• Published in: Environmental health Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 11 - 13
• Main Authors: Morgan, Zachariah E M, Bailey, Maximilian J, Trifonova, Diana I, Naik, Noopur C, Patterson, William B, Lurmann, Frederick W, Chang, Howard H, Peterson, Bradley S, Goran, Michael I, Alderete, Tanya L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 24.01.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Age; Air Pollutants - adverse effects; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollution; Air Pollution - adverse effects; Air Pollution - analysis; Babies; Birth weight; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Breast feeding; Child; Child Development; Cognitive ability; Cognitive development; Demographic aspects; Diameters; Environmental aspects; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Environmental health; Estimates; Exposure; Female; Health aspects; Health Disparities; Hospitals; Humans; Infant; Infants; Language; Linear Models; Maternal Exposure - adverse effects; Mothers; Nervous system diseases; Neurodevelopment; Neurogenesis; Nitrogen dioxide; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Particulate Matter - adverse effects; Particulate Matter - analysis; Pollutants; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Exposures; Prenatal development; Prenatal experience; Prenatal exposure; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - epidemiology; Prenatal influences; Psychological aspects; Risk factors; Socioeconomics; United States; Southern California; Los Angeles California; United States > US; Neurodevelopment; Health Disparities; Child Development; Air Pollution; Pregnancy Exposures
• ISSN: 1476-069X; 1476-069X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12940-022-00951-y

Higher prenatal ambient air pollution exposure has been associated with impaired neurodevelopment in preschoolers and school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between prenatal ambient air pollution exposure and neurodevelopment during infancy. This study examined 161 Latino mother-infant pairs from the Southern California Mother's Milk Study. Exposure assessments included prenatal nitrogen dioxide (NO ) and particulate matter smaller than 2.5 and 10 microns in diameter (PM and PM , respectively). The pregnancy period was also examined as three windows, early, mid, and late, which describe the first, middle, and last three months of pregnancy. Infant neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age were measured using the Bayley-III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Multivariable linear models and distributed lag linear models (DLM) were used to examine relationships between prenatal exposures and neurodevelopmental scores, adjusting for socioeconomic status, breastfeeding frequency, time of delivery, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and infant birthweight and sex. Higher prenatal exposure to PM and PM was negatively associated with composite cognitive score (β = -2.01 [-3.89, -0.13] and β = -1.97 [-3.83, -0.10], respectively). In addition, higher average prenatal exposure to PM was negatively associated with composite motor (β = -2.35 [-3.95, -0.74]), scaled motor (β = -0.77 [-1.30, -0.24]), gross motor (β = -0.37 [-0.70, -0.04]), fine motor (β = -0.40 [-0.71, -0.09]), composite language (β = -1.87 [-3.52, -0.22]), scaled language (β = -0.61 [-1.18, -0.05]) and expressive communication scaled scores (β = -0.36 [-0.66, -0.05]). DLMs showed that higher prenatal air pollution exposure during mid and late pregnancy was inversely associated with motor, cognitive, and communication language scores. Higher exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy, particularly in the mid and late prenatal periods, was inversely associated with scaled and composite motor, cognitive, and language scores at 2 years. These results indicate that prenatal ambient air pollution may negatively impact neurodevelopment in early life.