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Measurement error in mobile source air pollution exposure estimates due to residential mobility during pregnancy

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 27, pages 513–520 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Prenatal air pollution exposure is frequently estimated using maternal residential location at the time of delivery as a proxy for residence during pregnancy. We describe residential mobility during pregnancy among 19,951 children from the Kaiser Air Pollution and Pediatric Asthma Study, quantify measurement error in spatially resolved estimates of prenatal exposure to mobile source fine particulate matter (PM2.5) due to ignoring this mobility, and simulate the impact of this error on estimates of epidemiologic associations. Two exposure estimates were compared, one calculated using complete residential histories during pregnancy (weighted average based on time spent at each address) and the second calculated using only residence at birth. Estimates were computed using annual averages of primary PM2.5 from traffic emissions modeled using a Research LINE-source dispersion model for near-surface releases (RLINE) at 250 m resolution. In this cohort, 18.6% of children were born to mothers who moved at least once during pregnancy. Mobile source PM2.5 exposure estimates calculated using complete residential histories during pregnancy and only residence at birth were highly correlated (rS>0.9). Simulations indicated that ignoring residential mobility resulted in modest bias of epidemiologic associations toward the null, but varied by maternal characteristics and prenatal exposure windows of interest (ranging from −2% to −10% bias).

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Acknowledgements

Support for this work was provided by US EPA Grant R834799, NIH/NICHD Grant R03HD084884-01, and NIH Reproductive, Perinatal, & Pediatric Training Grant T32HD052460. This publication’s contents are solely the responsibility of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official view of the US EPA. Furthermore, US EPA does not endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in the publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Audrey Flak Pennington & Mitchel Klein

  2. School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA

    Matthew J Strickland & Lyndsey A Darrow

  3. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Xinxin Zhai & Armistead G Russell

  4. Kaiser Permanente Georgia Center for Clinical and Outcomes Research, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Craig Hansen

  5. South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Craig Hansen

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  1. Audrey Flak Pennington
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  2. Matthew J Strickland
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Correspondence to Audrey Flak Pennington.

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Pennington, A., Strickland, M., Klein, M. et al. Measurement error in mobile source air pollution exposure estimates due to residential mobility during pregnancy. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 513–520 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.66

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.66

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