Breathing in the future: prenatal exposure to air pollution and infants' health outcomes in the USA.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the impact of air pollution on birth outcomes in the USA over several decades.

Study design

Approximately 70 million birth records were assessed for the years 1980-2020. This study focussed on seven measures of birth outcomes, including birth weight, low birth weight, very low birth weight, full-term birth weight, foetal growth, gestational age and very premature birth.

Methods

An instrumental variable identification strategy was used that exploited within county-month and within month-year of birth variations in exposure to precipitation-induced changes in air pollution.

Results

Air pollution was found to have negative and large effects on a wide range of birth outcomes. The study findings suggest that a one-standard-

SUBMITTER: Noghanibehambari H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10842113 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature