Ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes: A review of underlying mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Epidemiological data provide varying degrees of evidence for associations between prenatal exposure to ambient air pollutants and adverse birth outcomes (suboptimal measures of fetal growth, preterm birth and stillbirth). To assess further certainty of effects, this review examines the experimental literature base to identify mechanisms by which air pollution (particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone) could cause adverse effects on the developing fetus. It likely that this environmental insult impacts multiple biological pathways important for sustaining a healthy pregnancy, depending upon the composition of the pollutant mixture and the exposure window owing to changes in physiologic maturity of the placenta, its circulations and the fetus as pregnancy ensues. The current body of ev

SUBMITTER: Fussell JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7615717 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature