A review of the literature on ambient air pollution and effects on fetal growth

M Maisonet, A Correa, D Misra, Jouni Jaakkola

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    226 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A systematic review of the literature on the effects of air pollution on low birth weight (LBW) and its determinants, preterm delivery (PTD) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), was conducted. Twelve epidemiologic investigations that addressed the impact of air pollution on four pregnancy outcomes were identified. Results were analyzed separately for each perinatal outcome because of differences in pathogenic mechanisms. Effects of air pollution were apparent on PTD and IUGR, but not on LBW. Most of the associations reported were rather small. The estimation of summary effects was not meaningful because of the heterogeneity of the effect estimates arising from differences in the measurements of outcome, exposure, and confounders and the small number of studies per outcome (four studies for PTD and six for IUGR). Current scientific knowledge on the impact of air pollution on fetal growth is still limited; thus, several issues should be examined further.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)106-115
    Number of pages10
    JournalEnvironmental Research
    Volume95
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2004

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'A review of the literature on ambient air pollution and effects on fetal growth'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this