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Epidemiology and Population Health

Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic and indicators of adiposity in early childhood: the Healthy Start study

International Journal of Obesity volume 46, pages 494–501 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic have been related to a lower birth weight and may be associated with greater adiposity in childhood. We aimed to examine associations of maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic during pregnancy with indicators of adiposity in early childhood.

Methods

We included 738 participants of the Colorado-based Healthy Start study whose height, weight, waist circumference and/or fat mass were measured at age 4–6 years. We estimated residential exposure to ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) averaged by trimester and throughout pregnancy via inverse distance-weighted interpolation of central site monitoring data. We assessed the distance to the nearest major roadway and traffic density in multiple buffers surrounding the participants’ homes. Associations of prenatal exposure to air pollution and traffic with overweight, waist circumference, percent fat mass and fat mass index (FMI) were assessed by logistic and linear regression.

Results

Associations of exposure to PM2.5 and O3 at the residential address during pregnancy with percent fat mass and FMI at age 4–6 years were inconsistent across trimesters. For example, second trimester PM2.5 was associated with a higher percent fat mass (adjusted difference 0.70% [95% CI 0.05, 1.35%] per interquartile range (IQR; 1.3 µg/m3) increase), while third trimester PM2.5 was associated with a lower percent fat mass (adjusted difference −1.17% [95% CI −1.84, −0.50%] per IQR (1.3 µg/m3) increase). Residential proximity to a highway during pregnancy was associated with higher odds of being overweight at age 4–6 years. We observed no associations of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and O3 with overweight and waist circumference.

Conclusions

We found limited evidence of associations of prenatal exposure to ambient PM2.5 and O3 with indicators of adiposity at age 4–6 years. Suggestive relationships between residential proximity to a highway during pregnancy and greater adiposity merit further investigation.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R00ES025817), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK076648), and the National Institutes of Health Office of the Director (UH3OD023248). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Lizan D. Bloemsma, Dana Dabelea & Anne P. Starling

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Lizan D. Bloemsma, Dana Dabelea & Anne P. Starling

  3. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Dana Dabelea

  4. Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Deborah S. K. Thomas

  5. Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Jennifer L. Peel, Sheena E. Martenies & Sheryl Magzamen

  6. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    John L. Adgate & William B. Allshouse

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Contributions

APS and LDB designed the research question. LDB performed the statistical analyses, and LDB and APS interpreted the results. LDB drafted the first version of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript for submission. LDB takes responsibility for the contents of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lizan D. Bloemsma.

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Bloemsma, L.D., Dabelea, D., Thomas, D.S.K. et al. Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic and indicators of adiposity in early childhood: the Healthy Start study. Int J Obes 46, 494–501 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-021-01003-0

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