Prenatal particulate air pollution and asthma onset in urban children: Identifying sensitive windows and sex differences

Hsiao Hsien Leon Hsu, Yueh Hsiu Mathilda Chiu, Brent A. Coull, Itai Kloog, Joel Schwartz, Alison Lee, Robert O. Wright, Rosalind J. Wright

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

247 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rationale: The influence of particulate air pollution on respiratory health starts in utero. Fetal lung growth and structural development occurs in stages; thus, effects on postnatal respiratory disorders may differ based on timing of exposure. Objectives: We implemented an innovative method to identify sensitive windows for effects of prenatal exposure to particulate matter with a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 mm (PM2.5) on children's asthma development in an urban pregnancy cohort. Methods: Analyses included 736 full-term (≥37 wk) children. Each mother's daily PM2.5 exposure was estimated over gestation using a validated satellite-based spatiotemporal resolved model. Using distributed lag models, we examined associations between weekly averaged PM2.5 levels over pregnancy and physician-diagnosed asthma in children by age 6 years. Effect modification by sex was also examined. Measurements and Main Results: Most mothers were ethnic minorities (54% Hispanic, 30% black), had 12 or fewer years of education (66%), and did not smoke in pregnancy (80%). In the sample as a whole, distributed lag models adjusting for child age, sex, and maternal factors (education, race and ethnicity, smoking, stress, atopy, prepregnancy obesity) showed that increased PM2.5 exposure levels at 16-25 weeks gestation were significantly associated with early childhood asthma development. An interaction between PM2.5 and sex was significant (P = 0.01) with sex-stratified analyses showing that the association exists only for boys. Conclusions: Higher prenatal PM2.5 exposure at midgestation was associated with asthma development by age 6 years in boys. Methods to better characterize vulnerable windows may provide insight into underlying mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1052-1059
Number of pages8
JournalAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Volume192
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2015

Keywords

  • Asthma
  • Fine particulate matter
  • Prenatal exposure
  • Sensitive windows
  • Sex difference

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
  • Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine

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