Understanding the Pathways from Prenatal and Post-Birth PM2.5 Exposure to Infant Death

An Observational Analysis Using US Vital Records (2011–2013)

Bibliographic Data

ID17801118
AuthorsAayush Khadka (0000-0002-7252-2532, University of California, San Francisco, corresponding author), David Canning (0000-0003-4041-1229, Harvard Global Health Institute)
Year2021
Volume19
Issue1
Pages258-258
Publication date2021-12-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19010258
PMID35010519
OpenAlexW4200270758
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited46

We studied the relationship of prenatal and post-birth exposure to particulate matter 2.5 ) with infant mortality for all births between 2011 and 2013 in the conterminous United States. Prenatal exposure was defined separately for each trimester, post-birth exposure was defined in the 12 months following the prenatal period, and infant mortality was defined as death in the first year of life. For the analysis, we merged over 10 million cohort-linked live birth-infant death records with daily, county-level PM 2.5 concentration data and then fit a Structural Equation Model controlling for several individual- and county-level confounders. We estimated direct paths from the two exposures to infant death as well as indirect paths from the prenatal exposure to the outcome through preterm birth and low birth weight. Prenatal PM 2.5 exposure was positively associated with infant death across all trimesters, although the relationship was strongest in the third trimester. The direct pathway from the prenatal exposure to the outcome accounted for most of this association. Estimates for the post-birth PM 2.5 -infant death relationship were less precise. The results from our study add to a growing literature that provides evidence in favor of the potential harmful effects on human health of low levels of air pollution

Biology · Cause of death · Cohort · Cohort study · Confounding · Environmental health · Gestation · Infant mortality · Observational study · Population · Pregnancy · Prenatal care · Prenatal exposure · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Demography · Energy and Environment Impacts · Medicine · Pediatrics

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