Prenatal pollution exposure stunts child growth differently in boys and girls
A Bangladesh study reveals that pregnant women's exposure to airborne carcinogens measurably reduces children's height and weight into their teens—with girls facing greater risks. The findings suggest air pollution regulation could yield substantial public health returns, affecting workforce productivity and healthcare costs across developing economies.
Originaltitel: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure during pregnancy and child anthropometry from birth to 10 years of age: Sex-specific evidence from a cohort study in rural Bangladesh
<p>Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have endocrine disrupting properties and they cross the placental barrier, but studies on gestational exposure and child anthropometry are inconclusive. We aimed to elucidate the impact of early gestational PAH exposure on anthropometry from birth to 10 years of age in 1295 mother-child pairs from a nested sub-cohort of the MINIMat trial in Bangladesh. Several PAH metabolites [1- hydroxyphenanthrene (1-OH-Phe), E2-,3-hydroxyphenanthrene (E2-,3-OH-Phe), 4-hydroxyphenanthrene (4- OH-Phe), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-Pyr), E2-,3-hydroxyfluorene (E2-,3-OH-Flu)] were quantified in spot urine collected around gestational week 8 using LC-MS/MS. Child weight and height were measured at 19 occasions from birth to 10 years. Multivariable-adjusted regression models were used to assess associations of maternal PAH metabolites (log2-transformed) with child anthropometry. The median concentration of 1-OH-Phe, E2-,3- OH-Phe, 4-OH-Phe, 1-OH-Pyr and E2-,3-OH-Flu was 1.5, 1.9, 0.14, 2.5, and 2.0 ng/mL, respectively. All maternal urinary PAH metabolites were positively associated with newborn weight and length and all associations were more pronounced in boys than in girls (p interaction for all <0.14). In boys, the strongest associations were observed with E2-,3-OH-Phe and E2-,3-OH-Flu for which each doubling increased mean birth weight by 41 g (95% CI: 13; 69 and 12; 70) and length by 0.23 cm (0.075; 0.39) and 0.21 cm (0.045; 0.37), respectively. Maternal urinary PAH metabolites were not associated with child anthropometry at 10 years. In longitudinal analysis, however, maternal urinary PAH metabolites were positively associated with boys' weight-for-age (WAZ) and height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) from birth to 10 years, but only the association of 4-OH-Phe with HAZ was significant (B: 0.080 Z-scores; 95% CI 0.013, 0.15). No associations were observed with girls' WAZ or HAZ. In conclusion, gestational PAH exposure was positively associated with fetal and early childhood growth, especially in boys. Further studies are needed to confirm causality and to explore long-term health effects.</p>