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Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in California: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 2006-2015 Births.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Studies suggest associations between oil and gas development (OGD) and adverse birth outcomes, but few epidemiological studies of oil wells or inactive wells exist, and none in California. OBJECTIVE:Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between residential proximity to OGD and birth outcomes in California. METHODS:We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2,918,089 births to mothers living within 10 km of at least one production well between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2015. We estimated exposure during pregnancy to inactive wells count (no inactive wells, 1 well, 2-5 wells, 6+ wells) and production volume from active wells in barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) (no BOE, 1-100 BOE/day, >100?BOE/day). We used generalized estimating equations to examine associations between overall and trimester-specific OGD exposures and term birth weight (tBW), low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), and small for gestational age birth (SGA). We assessed effect modification by urban/rural community type. RESULTS:Adjusted models showed exposure to active OGD was associated with adverse birth outcomes in rural areas; effect estimates in urban areas were close to null. In rural areas, increasing production volume was associated with stronger adverse effect estimates. High (>100?BOE/day) vs. no production throughout pregnancy was associated with increased odds of LBW [odds ratio (OR)=1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 1.71] and SGA (OR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.45), and decreased tBW (mean difference = -36 grams, 95% CI: -54, -17), but not with PTB (OR=1.03, 95% CI: 0.91, 1.18). CONCLUSION:Proximity to higher production OGD in California was associated with adverse birth outcomes among mothers residing in rural areas. Future studies are needed to confirm our findings in other populations and improve exposure assessment measures. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5842.

SUBMITTER: Tran KV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7268907 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in California: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 2006-2015 Births.

Tran Kathy V KV Casey Joan A JA Cushing Lara J LJ Morello-Frosch Rachel R

Environmental health perspectives 20200603 6

<h4>Background</h4>Studies suggest associations between oil and gas development (OGD) and adverse birth outcomes, but few epidemiological studies of oil wells or inactive wells exist, and none in California.<h4>Objective</h4>Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between residential proximity to OGD and birth outcomes in California.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2,918,089 births to mothers living within 10 km of at least one production well between January ...[more]

PMID: 32490702

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Project description:BackgroundOil and gas development emits known hematological carcinogens, such as benzene, and increasingly occurs in residential areas. We explored whether residential proximity to oil and gas development was associated with risk for hematologic cancers using a registry-based case-control study design.MethodsParticipants were 0-24 years old, living in rural Colorado, and diagnosed with cancer between 2001-2013. For each child in our study, we calculated inverse distance weighted (IDW) oil and gas well counts within a 16.1-kilometer radius of residence at cancer diagnosis for each year in a 10 year latency period to estimate density of oil and gas development. Logistic regression, adjusted for age, race, gender, income, and elevation was used to estimate associations across IDW well count tertiles for 87 acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) cases and 50 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cases, compared to 528 controls with non-hematologic cancers.FindingsOverall, ALL cases 0-24 years old were more likely to live in the highest IDW well count tertiles compared to controls, but findings differed substantially by age. For ages 5-24, ALL cases were 4.3 times as likely to live in the highest tertile, compared to controls (95% CI: 1.1 to 16), with a monotonic increase in risk across tertiles (trend p-value = 0.035). Further adjustment for year of diagnosis increased the association. No association was found between ALL for children aged 0-4 years or NHL and IDW well counts. While our study benefited from the ability to select cases and controls from the same population, use of cancer-controls, the limited number of ALL and NHL cases, and aggregation of ages into five year ranges, may have biased our associations toward the null. In addition, absence of information on O&G well activities, meteorology, and topography likely reduced temporal and spatial specificity in IDW well counts.ConclusionBecause oil and gas development has potential to expose a large population to known hematologic carcinogens, further study is clearly needed to substantiate both our positive and negative findings. Future studies should incorporate information on oil and gas development activities and production levels, as well as levels of specific pollutants of interest (e.g. benzene) near homes, schools, and day care centers; provide age-specific residential histories; compare cases to controls without cancer; and address other potential confounders, and environmental stressors.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Despite being one of the wealthiest nations, disparities in adverse birth outcomes persist across racial and ethnic lines in the United States. We studied the association between historical redlining and preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW), small-for-gestational age (SGA), and perinatal mortality over a ten-year period (2006-2015) in Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, California. METHODS:We used birth outcomes data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2015. Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) Security Maps developed in the 1930s assigned neighborhoods one of four grades that pertained to perceived investment risk of borrowers from that neighborhood: green (grade A) were considered "Best", blue (grade B) "Still Desirable", yellow (grade C) "Definitely Declining", and red (grade D, hence the term "redlining") "Hazardous". Geocoded residential addresses at the time of birth were superimposed on HOLC Security Maps to assign each birth a HOLC grade. We adjusted for potential confounders present at the time of Security Map creation by assigning HOLC polygons areal-weighted 1940s Census measures. We then employed propensity score matching methods to estimate the association of historical HOLC grades on current birth outcomes. Because tracts graded A had almost no propensity of receiving grade C or D and because grade B tracts had low propensity of receiving grade D, we examined birth outcomes in the three following comparisons: B vs. A, C vs. B, and D vs. C. RESULTS:The prevalence of preterm birth, SGA and mortality tended to be higher in worse HOLC grades, while the prevalence of LBW varied across grades. Overall odds of mortality and preterm birth increased as HOLC grade worsened. Propensity score matching balanced 1940s census measures across contrasting groups. Logistic regression models revealed significantly elevated odds of preterm birth (odds ratio (OR): 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.05), and SGA (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00-1.05) in the C vs. B comparison and significantly reduced odds of preterm birth (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91-0.95), LBW (OR: 0.94-95% CI: 0.92-0.97), and SGA (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.92-0.96) in the D vs. C comparison. Results differed by metropolitan area and maternal race. CONCLUSION:Similar to prior studies on redlining, we found that worsening HOLC grade was associated with adverse birth outcomes, although this relationship was less clear after propensity score matching and stratifying by metropolitan area. Higher odds of preterm birth and SGA in grade C versus grade B neighborhoods may be caused by higher-stress environments, racial segregation, and lack of access to resources, while lower odds of preterm birth, SGA, and LBW in grade D versus grade C neighborhoods may due to population shifts in those neighborhoods related to gentrification.

Project description:BackgroundOil and natural gas extraction may produce environmental pollution at levels that affect reproductive health of nearby populations. Available studies have primarily focused on unconventional gas drilling and have not accounted for local population changes that can coincide with drilling activity.ObjectiveOur study sought to examine associations between residential proximity to oil and gas drilling and adverse term birth outcomes using a difference-in-differences study design.MethodsWe created a retrospective population-based term birth cohort in Texas between 1996 and 2009 composed of mother-infant dyads (n=2,598,025) living <10km from an oil or gas site. We implemented a difference-in-differences approach to estimate associations between drilling activities and infant health: term birth weight and term small for gestational age (SGA). Using linear and logistic regression, we modeled interactions between births before (unexposed) or during (exposed) drilling activity and residential proximity near (0-1, 1-2, or 2-3km) or far (3-10km) from an active or future drilling site, adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics.ResultsThe adjusted mean difference in term birth weight for mothers living 0-1 vs. 3-10km from a current or future drilling site was -7.3g [95% confidence interval (CI): -11.6, -3.0] for births during active vs. future drilling. The corresponding adjusted odds ratio for SGA was 1.02 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.06). Negative associations with term birth weight were observed for the 1-2 and 2-3km near groups, and no consistent differences were identified by type of drilling activity. Larger, though imprecise, adverse associations were found for infants born to Hispanic women, women with the lowest educational attainment, and women living in cities.ConclusionsResiding near oil and gas drilling sites during pregnancy was associated with a small reduction in term birth weight but not SGA, with some evidence of environmental injustices. Additional work is needed to investigate specific drilling-related exposures that might explain these associations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7678.

Project description:BackgroundPreterm birth (PTB) and term low birth weight (LBW) have been associated with pollution and other environmental exposures, but the relationship between these adverse outcomes and specific characteristics of polluted sites is not well studied.ObjectivesWe conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine relationships between residential proximity to polluted sites in North Carolina (NC) and PTB and LBW. We further stratified exposure to polluted sites by route of contaminant emissions and specific contaminants released at each site.MethodsWe created an integrated exposure geodatabase of polluted sites in NC from 2002 to 2015 including all landfills, Superfund sites, and industrial sites. Using birth certificates, we assembled a cohort of 1,494,651 singleton births in NC from 2003 to 2015. We geocoded the gestational parent residential address on the birth certificate, and defined exposure to polluted sites as residence within one mile of a site. We used log-binomial regression models to estimate adjusted risk ratios (aRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Binomial models were used to estimate adjusted risk differences (aRD) per 10,000 births and 95% CIs for associations between exposure to polluted sites and PTB or LBW.ResultsWe observed weak associations between residential proximity to polluted sites and PTB [aRR(95% CI): 1.07(1.06,1.09); aRD(95% CI): 61(48,74)] and LBW [aRR(95% CI): 1.09(1.06,1.12); aRD(95% CI): 24(17,31)]. Secondary analyses showed increased risk of both PTB and LBW among births exposed to sites characterized by water emissions, air emissions, and land impoundment. In analyses of specific contaminants, increased risk of PTB was associated with proximity to sites containing arsenic, benzene, cadmium, lead, mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. LBW was associated with exposure to arsenic, benzene, cadmium, lead, and mercury.SignificanceThis study provides evidence for potential reproductive health effects of polluted sites, and underscores the importance of accounting for heterogeneity between polluted sites when considering these exposures.Impact statementWe documented an overall increased risk of both PTB and LBW in births with gestational exposure to polluted sites using a harmonized geodatabase of three site types, and further examined exposures stratified by site characteristics (route of emission, specific contaminants present). We observed increased risk of both PTB and LBW among births exposed to sites with water emissions or air emissions, across site types. Increased risk of PTB was associated with gestational proximity to sites containing arsenic, benzene, cadmium, lead, mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; increased risk of LBW was associated with exposure to arsenic, benzene, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

Dataset Information

Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in California: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 2006-2015 Births.

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Residential Proximity to Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in California: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 2006-2015 Births.

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