Prenatal exposure to particulates and anthropometry through 9 years of age in a birth cohort

Ian R Trees; Abhisek Saha; Diane L Putnick; Priscilla K Clayton; Pauline Mendola; Rajeshwari Sundaram; Edwina H Yeung

doi:10.1111/ijpo.13202

Prenatal exposure to particulates and anthropometry through 9 years of age in a birth cohort

Pediatr Obes. 2025 Jan 9:e13202. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.13202. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ian R Trees¹, Abhisek Saha², Diane L Putnick¹, Priscilla K Clayton¹, Pauline Mendola³, Rajeshwari Sundaram², Edwina H Yeung¹

Affiliations

¹ Epidemiology Branch, Division of Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
² Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch, Division of Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.

PMID: 39788637
DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.13202

Abstract

Background: Previous research observed links between prenatal air pollution and risk of childhood obesity but the timing of the exposure is understudied.

Aim: We examined prenatal particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM_2.5) exposure and child anthropometry.

Materials & methods: Children's body mass index z-scores (zBMI) at 0-3 (N = 4370) and 7-9 (n = 1191) years were derived from reported anthropometry at paediatric visits. We ran linear mixed models for six windows, adjusting for maternal, child, and neighbourhood factors.

Results: PM₁₀ exposure across pregnancy and at multiple windows was associated with higher zBMI in both early and middle childhood. For instance, one interquartile range increase in PM₁₀ exposure during the first 2 weeks of pregnancy was associated with higher zBMI at 0-3 (0.05, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.10) and 7-9 (0.14, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.23). PM_2.5 exposure during the final 2 weeks of gestation was associated with higher zBMI at 7-9 years (B: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.22).

Conclusion: Even at low levels of air pollution, prenatal PM₁₀ exposure was associated with higher zBMI in childhood.

Keywords: BMI; anthropometry; birth cohort; obesity; particulates.

© 2025 The Author(s). Pediatric Obesity published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of World Obesity Federation. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Abstract

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