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Residential mobility of pregnant women and implications for assessment of spatially-varying environmental exposures

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 28, pages 470–480 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Health studies on spatially-varying exposures (e.g., air pollution) during pregnancy often estimate exposure using residence at birth, disregarding residential mobility. We investigated moving patterns in pregnant women (n = 10,116) in linked cohorts focused on Connecticut and Massachusetts, U.S., 1988–2008. Moving patterns were assessed by race/ethnicity, age, marital status, education, working status, population density, parity, income, and season of birth. In this population, 11.6% of women moved during pregnancy. Movers were more likely to be younger, unmarried, and living in urban areas with no previous children. Among movers, multiple moves were more likely for racial/ethnic minority, younger, less educated, unmarried, and lower income women. Most moves occurred later in pregnancy, with 87.4% of first moves in the second or third trimester, although not all cohort subjects enrolled in the first few weeks of pregnancy. Distance between first and second residence had a median value of 5.2 km (interquartile range 11.3 km, average 57.8 km, range 0.0–4277 km). Women moving larger distances were more likely to be white, older, married, and work during pregnancy. Findings indicate that residential mobility may impact studies of spatially-varying exposure during pregnancy and health and that subpopulations vary in probability of moving, and timing and distance of moves.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Yale Center for Perinatal, Pediatric, and Environmental Epidemiology and study participants. This work was funded by NIEHS (R01ES01587 and R01ES019560), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA RD 83479801 and RD 835871) and an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship grant (1052236 to GP). This paper has not been formally reviewed by the EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Agency. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Michelle L. Bell

  2. School of Public Health, Brown University, 121S Main St., Providence, RI, 02902, USA

    Geetanjoli Banerjee

  3. School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth Western Australia, 6845, Perth, Australia

    Gavin Pereira

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  1. Michelle L. Bell
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Correspondence to Michelle L. Bell.

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Bell, M.L., Banerjee, G. & Pereira, G. Residential mobility of pregnant women and implications for assessment of spatially-varying environmental exposures. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 28, 470–480 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0026-0

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Key words

  • Birth outcomes
  • Exposure assessment
  • Health
  • Pregnancy
  • Residential mobility

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