Preconception, gestation, and childhood exposure to air pollution and risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in a US girls cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Exposure to ambient air pollution (AP) during sensitive developmental periods could dysregulate the reproductive system, resulting in later in life menstrual disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Minimal research exists examining the relationship between AP exposure and PCOS.

Objectives

To determine if residential ambient particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) exposure during preconception, gestation, and childhood increases the risk of PCOS.

Methods

We used data from 3,321 female participants with gestational data available born between 1989 and 1994 in the Growing Up Today Study 2 (GUTS2), an ongoing United States (US) cohort initiated in 2004. Exposure to ambient PM (≤2.5, 2.5-10, and ≤ 10 μm) and NO₂ we

SUBMITTER: Peebles E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12810124 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature