Prenatal Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Epigenetic Aging at Birth in Newborns
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SUBMITTER: Song A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9274082 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Importance:Telomere length is a marker of biological aging that may provide a cellular memory of exposures to oxidative stress and inflammation. Telomere length at birth has been related to life expectancy. An association between prenatal air pollution exposure and telomere length at birth could provide new insights in the environmental influence on molecular longevity. Objective:To assess the association of prenatal exposure to particulate matter (PM) with newborn telomere length as reflected by cord blood and placental telomere length. Design, Setting, and Participants:In a prospective birth cohort (ENVIRONAGE [Environmental Influence on Ageing in Early Life]), a total of 730 mother-newborn pairs were recruited in Flanders, Belgium between February 2010 and December 2014, all with a singleton full-term birth (?37 weeks of gestation). For statistical analysis, participants with full data on both cord blood and placental telomere lengths were included, resulting in a final study sample size of 641. Exposures:Maternal residential PM2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter ?2.5 ?m) exposure during pregnancy. Main Outcomes and Measures:In the newborns, cord blood and placental tissue relative telomere length were measured. Maternal residential PM2.5 exposure during pregnancy was estimated using a high-resolution spatial-temporal interpolation method. In distributed lag models, both cord blood and placental telomere length were associated with average weekly exposures to PM2.5 during pregnancy, allowing the identification of critical sensitive exposure windows. Results:In 641 newborns, cord blood and placental telomere length were significantly and inversely associated with PM2.5 exposure during midgestation (weeks 12-25 for cord blood and weeks 15-27 for placenta). A 5-µg/m3 increment in PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy was associated with 8.8% (95% CI, -14.1% to -3.1%) shorter cord blood leukocyte telomeres and 13.2% (95% CI, -19.3% to -6.7%) shorter placental telomere length. These associations were controlled for date of delivery, gestational age, maternal body mass index, maternal age, paternal age, newborn sex, newborn ethnicity, season of delivery, parity, maternal smoking status, maternal educational level, pregnancy complications, and ambient temperature. Conclusions and Relevance:Mothers who were exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 gave birth to newborns with shorter telomere length. The observed telomere loss in newborns by prenatal air pollution exposure indicates less buffer for postnatal influences of factors decreasing telomere length during life. Therefore, improvements in air quality may promote molecular longevity from birth onward.
| S-EPMC6233867 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceAir pollution is associated with structural brain changes, disruption of neurogenesis, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The association between prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of cerebral palsy (CP), which is the most common motor disability in childhood, has not been thoroughly investigated.ObjectiveTo evaluate the associations between prenatal residential exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of CP among children born at term gestation in a population cohort in Ontario, Canada.Design, setting, and participantsPopulation-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada using linked, province-wide health administrative databases. Participants were singleton full term births (≥37 gestational weeks) born in Ontario hospitals between April 1, 2002, and March 31, 2017. Data were analyzed from January to December 2022.ExposuresWeekly average concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter with a diameter 2.5 μm (PM2.5) or smaller, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) during pregnancy assigned by maternal residence reported at delivery from satellite-based estimates and ground-level monitoring data.Main outcome and measuresCP cases were ascertained by a single inpatient hospitalization diagnosis or at least 2 outpatient diagnoses for children from birth to age 18 years.ResultsThe present study included 1 587 935 mother-child pairs who reached term gestation, among whom 3170 (0.2%) children were diagnosed with CP. The study population had a mean (SD) maternal age of 30.1 (5.6) years and 811 745 infants (51.1%) were male. A per IQR increase (2.7 μg/m3) in prenatal ambient PM2.5 concentration was associated with a cumulative hazard ratio (CHR) of 1.12 (95% CI, 1.03-1.21) for CP. The CHR in male infants (1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.26) was higher compared with the CHR in female infants (1.08; 95% CI, 0.96-1.22). No specific window of susceptibility was found for prenatal PM2.5 exposure and CP in the study population. No associations or windows of susceptibility were found for prenatal NO2 or O3 exposure and CP risk.Conclusions and relevanceIn this large cohort study of singleton full term births in Canada, prenatal ambient PM2.5 exposure was associated with an increased risk of CP in offspring. Further studies are needed to explore this association and its potential biological pathways, which could advance the identification of environmental risk factors of CP in early life.
| S-EPMC11234239 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundStudies have identified relationships between air pollution and birth weight, but have been inconsistent in identifying individual pollutants inversely associated with birth weight or elucidating susceptibility of the fetus by trimester of exposure. We examined effects of prenatal ambient pollution exposure on average birth weight and risk of low birth weight in full-term births.MethodsWe estimated average ambient air pollutant concentrations throughout pregnancy in the neighborhoods of women who delivered term singleton live births between 1996 and 2006 in California. We adjusted effect estimates of air pollutants on birth weight for infant characteristics, maternal characteristics, neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and year and season of birth.Results3,545,177 singleton births had monitoring for at least one air pollutant within a 10 km radius of the tract or ZIP Code of the mother's residence. In multivariate models, pollutants were associated with decreased birth weight; -5.4 grams (95% confidence interval -6.8 g, -4.1 g) per ppm carbon monoxide, -9.0 g (-9.6 g, -8.4 g) per pphm nitrogen dioxide, -5.7 g (-6.6 g, -4.9 g) per pphm ozone, -7.7 g (-7.9 g, -6.6 g) per 10 microg/m3 particulate matter under 10 microm, -12.8 g (-14.3 g, -11.3 g) per 10 microg/m3 particulate matter under 2.5 microm, and -9.3 g (-10.7 g, -7.9 g) per 10 microg/m3 of coarse particulate matter. With the exception of carbon monoxide, estimates were largely unchanged after controlling for co-pollutants. Effect estimates for the third trimester largely reflect the results seen from full pregnancy exposure estimates; greater variation in results is seen in effect estimates specific to the first and second trimesters.ConclusionsThis study indicates that maternal exposure to ambient air pollution results in modestly lower infant birth weight. A small decline in birth weight is unlikely to have clinical relevance for individual infants, and there is debate about whether a small shift in the population distribution of birth weight has broader health implications. However, the ubiquity of air pollution exposures, the responsiveness of pollutant levels to regulation, and the fact that the highest pollution levels in California are lower than those regularly experienced in other countries suggest that precautionary efforts to reduce pollutants may be beneficial for infant health from a population perspective.
| S-EPMC2919523 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mitochondria are sensitive to environmental toxicants due to their lack of repair capacity. Changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content may represent a biologically relevant intermediate outcome in mechanisms linking air pollution and fetal growth restriction.We investigated whether placental mtDNA content is a possible mediator of the association between prenatal nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure and birth weight.We used data from two independent European cohorts: INMA (n = 376; Spain) and ENVIRONAGE (n = 550; Belgium). Relative placental mtDNA content was determined as the ratio of two mitochondrial genes (MT-ND1 and MTF3212/R3319) to two control genes (RPLP0 and ACTB). Effect estimates for individual cohorts and the pooled data set were calculated using multiple linear regression and mixed models. We also performed a mediation analysis.Pooled estimates indicated that a 10-?g/m3 increment in average NO2 exposure during pregnancy was associated with a 4.9% decrease in placental mtDNA content (95% CI: -9.3, -0.3%) and a 48-g decrease (95% CI: -87, -9 g) in birth weight. However, the association with birth weight was significant for INMA (-66 g; 95% CI: -111, -23 g) but not for ENVIRONAGE (-20 g; 95% CI: -101, 62 g). Placental mtDNA content was associated with significantly higher mean birth weight (pooled analysis, interquartile range increase: 140 g; 95% CI: 43, 237 g). Mediation analysis estimates, which were derived for the INMA cohort only, suggested that 10% (95% CI: 6.6, 13.0 g) of the association between prenatal NO2 and birth weight was mediated by changes in placental mtDNA content.Our results suggest that mtDNA content can be one of the potential mediators of the association between prenatal air pollution exposure and birth weight.Clemente DB, Casas M, Vilahur N, Begiristain H, Bustamante M, Carsin AE, Fernández MF, Fierens F, Gyselaers W, Iñiguez C, Janssen BG, Lefebvre W, Llop S, Olea N, Pedersen M, Pieters N, Santa Marina L, Souto A, Tardón A, Vanpoucke C, Vrijheid M, Sunyer J, Nawrot TS. 2016. Prenatal ambient air pollution, placental mitochondrial DNA content, and birth weight in the INMA (Spain) and ENVIRONAGE (Belgium) birth cohorts. Environ Health Perspect 124:659-665;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408981.
| S-EPMC4858384 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDespite many efforts, preterm birth (PTB) is poorly understood and remains a major public health problem in the United States. Toxicological work suggests gestational parent (GP) diet may modify the effect of ambient pollutants on birth outcomes. We assessed risk of PTB in humans in relation to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and variation by diet.Methods684 GP-singleton infant pairs in the Newborn Epigenetics Study prospective birth cohort were attributed ambient air pollutant exposures for each trimester based on residence. Total energy intake, percent of energy intake from saturated fat, and percent of energy intake from total fat were dichotomized at the 75th percentile. >We used log binomial regressions to estimate risk ratios (RR (95%CI)) for PTB by pollutant interquartile ranges, adjusting for GP age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, GP race/ethnicity, GP education, season of conception, household income, and each diet factor. We assessed departure from additivity using interaction contrast ratios (ICRs). We addressed missing covariate data with multiple imputation.ResultsPoint estimates suggest that O3 may be inversely associated with PTB when exposure occurs in trimester 2 (min RR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.39, 1.49), but may be harmful when exposure occurs in trimester 3 (max RR: 1.51, 95% CI: 0.62, 3.64). Additionally, PM2.5 may be inversely associated with PTB when considered with total fat and saturated fat in trimester 2. Imprecise ICRs suggest departure from additivity (evidence of modification) with some pollutant-diet combinations.ConclusionsWhile confidence intervals are wide, we observed potential modification of pollutant associations by dietary factors. It is imperative that large cohorts collect the required data to examine this topic, as more power is necessary to investigate the nuances suggested by this work.
| S-EPMC10161541 | biostudies-literature
Project description: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 (NO2) and particulate matter smaller than 2.5 and 10 microns in diameter (PM2.5 and PM10, 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 PM10 and PM2.5 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 PM10 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.
| S-EPMC9872424 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPrenatal air pollution exposure has been linked to many adverse health conditions in the offspring. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying these associations. Epigenetics may be one plausible biologic link. Here, we sought to identify site-specific and global DNA methylation (DNAm) changes, in developmentally relevant tissues, associated with prenatal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). Additionally, we assessed whether sex-specific changes in methylation exist and whether DNAm changes are consistently observed across tissues.MethodsGenome-scale DNAm measurements were obtained using the Infinium HumanMethylation450k platform for 133 placenta and 175 cord blood specimens from Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) neonates. Ambient NO2 and O3 exposure levels were based on prenatal address locations of EARLI mothers and the Environmental Protection Agency's AirNOW monitoring network using inverse distance weighting. We computed sample-level aggregate methylation measures for each of 5 types of genomic regions including genome-wide, open sea, shelf, shore, and island regions. Linear regression was performed for each genomic region; per-sample aggregate methylation measures were modeled as a function of quantitative exposure level with covariate adjustment. In addition, bumphunting was performed to identify differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with prenatal O3 and NO2 exposures in each tissue and by sex, with adjustment for technical and biological sources of variation.ResultsWe identified global and locus-specific changes in DNA methylation related to prenatal exposure to NO2 and O3 in 2 developmentally relevant tissues. Neonates with increased prenatal O3 exposure had lower aggregate levels of DNAm at CpGs located in open sea and shelf regions of the genome. We identified 6 DMRs associated with prenatal NO2 exposure, including 3 sex-specific. An additional 3 sex-specific DMRs were associated with prenatal O3 exposure levels. DMRs initially detected in cord blood samples (n = 4) showed consistent exposure-related changes in DNAm in placenta. However, the DMRs initially detected in placenta (n = 5) did not show DNAm differences in cord blood and, thus, they appear to be tissue-specific.ConclusionsWe observed global, locus, and sex-specific methylation changes associated with prenatal NO2 and O3 exposures. Our findings support DNAm is a biologic target of prenatal air pollutant exposures and highlight epigenetic involvement in sex-specific differential susceptibility to environmental exposure effects in 2 developmentally relevant tissues.
| S-EPMC6446941 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A barrier in the children's environmental health field has been the lack of early-warning systems to identify risks of childhood illness and developmental disorders. We aimed to develop a methodology to identify an accessible biomarker measured in a small amount of blood to distinguish newborns at elevated risk from a toxic prenatal exposure, using air pollutants as a case study. Because air pollutants are associated with altered DNA methylation, we developed a pipeline using DNA methylation signatures measured in umbilical cord blood, which could be used as predictors of prenatal exposure. We used air pollution indicators, including modelled trimester-specific and pregnancy average NO2 and PM2.5, and DNA methylation signatures from Illumina arrays measured in two New York City-based longitudinal birth cohorts from the Columbia Centre for Children's Environmental Health. We developed a screening plus three-part pipeline that incorporates selection, testing, and validation to identify whether DNA methylation can be used to predict exposure to prenatal air pollution indicators, NO2 and PM2.5. Applying this pipeline, we found that cord blood DNA methylation could be used to predict high vs. low average pregnancy NO2 (AUC = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.52-0.68, with validation AUC = 0.60). Similar results were found for high vs. low third trimester NO2. In this proof of concept study using air pollutants as an example, we provide an approach (with a generalizable analytic pipeline) that can be used for prediction of prenatal exposure to contaminants. This approach has potential to identify children at risk of developmental disorders and illness resulting from prenatal exposure.
| S-EPMC8812744 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Prenatal exposures to ambient air pollution and traffic have been associated with adverse birth outcomes, and may also lead to an increased risk of obesity. Obesity risk may be reflected in changes in body composition in infancy. OBJECTIVE:To estimate associations between prenatal ambient air pollution and traffic exposure, and infant weight and adiposity in a Colorado-based prospective cohort study. METHODS:Participants were 1125 mother-infant pairs with term births. Birth weight was recorded from medical records and body composition measures (fat mass, fat-free mass, and adiposity [percent fat mass]) were evaluated via air displacement plethysmography at birth (n = 951) and at ~5 months (n = 574). Maternal residential address was used to calculate distance to nearest roadway, traffic density, and ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) via inverse-distance weighted interpolation of stationary monitoring data, averaged by trimester and throughout pregnancy. Adjusted linear regression models estimated associations between exposures and infant weight and body composition. RESULTS:Participants were urban residents and diverse in race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Average ambient air pollutant concentrations were generally low; the median, interquartile range (IQR), and range of third trimester concentrations were 7.3 ?g/m3 (IQR: 1.3, range: 3.3-12.7) for PM2.5 and 46.3 ppb (IQR: 18.4, range: 21.7-63.2) for 8-h maximum O3. Overall there were few associations between traffic and air pollution exposures and infant outcomes. Third trimester O3 was associated with greater adiposity at follow-up (2.2% per IQR, 95% CI 0.1, 4.3), and with greater rates of change in fat mass (1.8 g/day, 95% CI 0.5, 3.2) and adiposity (2.1%/100 days, 95% CI 0.4, 3.7) from birth to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS:We found limited evidence of an association between prenatal traffic and ambient air pollution exposure and infant body composition. Suggestive associations between prenatal ozone exposure and early postnatal changes in body composition merit further investigation.
| S-EPMC7394733 | biostudies-literature
Project description:An emerging body of evidence suggests that ambient levels of air pollution during pregnancy are associated with preterm birth.To further investigate these relationships we used vital record data to construct a retrospective cohort of 476,489 births occurring between 1994 and 2004 in 5 central counties of metropolitan Atlanta. Using a time-series approach, we examined aggregated daily counts of preterm birth in relation to ambient levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, particulate matter <10 microm in diameter (PM10), particulate matter <2.5 microm in diameter (PM2.5), and speciated PM measurements. Daily pollutant levels in 5-county Atlanta were characterized using a population-weighted spatial average of air quality monitors in the study area. We also examined ambient concentrations at individual monitors in analyses limited to mothers with residential geocodes within 4 miles of each monitor. Relationships between average pollution levels during 3 gestational windows of interest were modeled using Poisson generalized linear models. Results were adjusted for seasonal and long-term time trends.Although most results were null, there were 3 positive associations between ambient pollution levels and preterm birth in the 4-mile capture-area analyses. Daily preterm birth rates were associated with average NO2 concentrations in the preceding 6 weeks and with average PM2.5 sulfate and PM2.5 water-soluble metal concentrations in the preceding week.Results provide limited support for late-pregnancy effects of ambient air pollution on preterm birth.
| S-EPMC3780365 | biostudies-literature