TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations of polycyclic organic matter in outdoor air with decreased birth weight
T2 - A pilot cross-sectional analysis
AU - Vassilev, Z. P.
AU - Robson, M. G.
AU - Klotz, J. B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Received 30 October 2000; accepted 26 January 2001. This study was supported by the NIEHS Center for Environmental Health Sciences of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, grant P30ES05022. The authors acknowledge the help of Homer Wilcox and Ric Skinner from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Joann Held and Marjorie Kaplan from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and Drs. Sharmila Singh and Sulaiman Sannoh from the New Jersey Graduate Program in Public Health. Address correspondence to Mark G. Robson, PhD, MPH, Environmental and Occupational Hlth eSnaccsIie sneuti1t7teF0,rg eyhsleRiuonnPai sdtawc,aNa08yJ48U5,, ESa-ilArm:bo [email protected] rutgers.edu
PY - 2001/12/21
Y1 - 2001/12/21
N2 - The association between births that are small for gestational age and outdoor airborne polycyclic organic matter (POM) was examined in New Jersey, a highly urban state. This pilot study utilizes a cross-sectional investigation combining maternal and pregnancy outcome information from birth certificates with air toxics data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cumulative Exposure Project and census data at the census tract level. The exposure categories were based on tertiles of modeled average POM concentrations for each census tract in New Jersey. High POM exposure was positively associated with delivery of "small for gestational age" (SGA) births. After adjustment for potential individual-level confounding factors, the odds ratios for term, preterm, and all SGA were 1.22 (1.16-1.27), 1.26 (1.07-1.49), and 1.22 (1.17-1.27), respectively, for the highest exposure tertile in the urban population of the state (89% of the state's birth population). For group-level variables, the corresponding ORs were 1.12 (1.07-1.18), 1.23 (1.02-1.47), and 1.13 (1.07-1.18). The results of this study suggest that residential exposure to airborne polycyclic organic matter (POM) is associated with increased prevalence of "small for gestational age" births among urban population. Cross-sectional investigations combining air dispersion models with routinely collected population-based health and census data could be a useful approach for identifying the hazardous air pollutants of greatest public health concern.
AB - The association between births that are small for gestational age and outdoor airborne polycyclic organic matter (POM) was examined in New Jersey, a highly urban state. This pilot study utilizes a cross-sectional investigation combining maternal and pregnancy outcome information from birth certificates with air toxics data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cumulative Exposure Project and census data at the census tract level. The exposure categories were based on tertiles of modeled average POM concentrations for each census tract in New Jersey. High POM exposure was positively associated with delivery of "small for gestational age" (SGA) births. After adjustment for potential individual-level confounding factors, the odds ratios for term, preterm, and all SGA were 1.22 (1.16-1.27), 1.26 (1.07-1.49), and 1.22 (1.17-1.27), respectively, for the highest exposure tertile in the urban population of the state (89% of the state's birth population). For group-level variables, the corresponding ORs were 1.12 (1.07-1.18), 1.23 (1.02-1.47), and 1.13 (1.07-1.18). The results of this study suggest that residential exposure to airborne polycyclic organic matter (POM) is associated with increased prevalence of "small for gestational age" births among urban population. Cross-sectional investigations combining air dispersion models with routinely collected population-based health and census data could be a useful approach for identifying the hazardous air pollutants of greatest public health concern.
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U2 - 10.1080/152873901753246205
DO - 10.1080/152873901753246205
M3 - Article
C2 - 11766167
AN - SCOPUS:0035930428
SN - 1528-7394
VL - 64
SP - 595
EP - 605
JO - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A
JF - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A
IS - 8
ER -