The Association Between Ambient PM2.5 and Low Birth Weight in California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Balmes JR ; Costello S ; Holm SM ; Lee J
• Description:
  Previous studies have shown associations between air pollutants and low birth weight. However, few studies assess whether poverty and race/ethnicity are effect modifiers for this relationship. We used publicly available data on 7785 California census tracts from the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the association between outdoor PM2.5 and low birth weight (LBW), including stratification by poverty and race/ethnicity (as a proxy for experienced racism). A 1 µg m-3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 0.03% (95% CI: 0.01, 0.04) increase in the percentage of LBW infants in a census tract. The association between PM2.5 and LBW was stronger in census tracts with the majority living in poverty (0.06% increase; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.08) compared to those with fewer people living in poverty (0.02% increase; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.03). Our results show that exposure to outdoor PM2.5 is associated with a small increase in the percentage of LBW infants in a census tract, with a further increase in tracts with high poverty. The results for effect modification by race/ethnicity were less conclusive. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Body Weight Epidemiology Healthcare Disparities Occupational Health Race Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Pollution Author Keywords: Air Pollution Body Weight Children Ecologic Study Environmental Health Health Disparities Low Birth Weight Racial Factors Sociological Factors
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  20
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067138
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Oct; 19(20):13554
• Contact Point Address:
  Stephanie M. Holm, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
• Email:
  stephanie.holm@ucsf.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Berkeley
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:03a3b5a3d00dbbe976e95d0d8a07e118c5ea00d4543d84ea46493d6dba2b750bbbba3bde11d410125570a802d3508022fdba6edf3e149f0c94684c27448c4394
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231299/cdc_231299_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.20 MB ]